In the narrow lanes of Bara Bazaar, the city's main market, and Kannauj reverts fully to medieval times. In this labyrinth, longtime shops are crammed with finely cut glass bottles holding attar and ruh, or essential oil, each smelling better than the last. Men sit cross-legged on cushioned floor mats, sniffing vials and dabbing extraordinarily long perfumed cotton swabs behind their ears. Presiding over this age-old commerce is the attar sazh, or perfumer, conjuring and enticing with the aura of an imperial alchemist.
在卡瑙杰的主要市場巴拉市集的狹窄巷弄中，時代仿佛完全回到了中世紀。在這個迷宮般的地方，歷史悠久的商店里塞滿了裝著阿塔爾以及稱為“如”的香精油的玻璃瓶，一瓶比一瓶好聞。男士盤腿坐在蓬軟的地墊上嗅聞小瓶子，并用沾了精油的超長棉花棒輕觸耳后。主掌這個古老商業活動的是“阿塔爾薩茲”，也就是調香師，他們像皇家煉金術師般，運用香氛進行誘人魔法。
"The world's best perfumers have walked through these narrow lanes, making their way through mud and cow dung to get their hands on Kannauj attar. There is really nothing like it," remarks Pranjal Kapoor, the fifth-generation partner at M.L. Ramnarain Perfumers, one of the traditional distillers still operating here.
“世界一流的調香師都曾走過這些狹窄巷弄，穿越爛泥和牛糞，以取得卡瑙杰的阿塔爾。真的沒有什么比得上它。”仍在此處營運的傳統蒸餾廠之一M.L.拉姆納瑞恩香水制造公司的第五代合伙人浦蘭久·卡浦爾說。
Tegh Singh arrives and unloads his bundles of blossoms in Kapoor's godown, an open-air stone courtyard that serves as the distillery. Ram Singh, Kapoor's master attar craftsman, scoops the petals into a bulbous copper still and tops it with fresh water. Before fastening the lid, Ram Singh packs the rims with a clay-and-cotton mash, which hardens and creates a formidable seal.
特格·辛格抵達卡浦爾的倉庫并卸下花朵，倉庫是個露天庭院，用來當作蒸餾廠。卡浦爾的阿塔爾專業師傅拉姆·辛格把花瓣舀進銅制的蒸餾器，然后加水蓋過。扣上蓋子前，拉姆·辛格用黏土與棉花混合成的糊狀物包覆容器邊緣，它會變硬并且緊緊封住。
When the flowery concoction begins to simmer, steam travels from the still, via a bamboo reed, into a copper pot holding sandalwood oil, which readily imbibes the rose-saturated vapor.
在花瓣混合物開始熬煮后，飽含玫瑰香氣的水蒸氣會從蒸餾器經由竹管流向裝有檀香油的銅鍋，讓檀香油迅速吸收。
評論
打印
