Smells and nostalgia: 200 years old attar sellers

Haji Khuda Buksh Nabi Buksh is a quaint attar (perfume) shop in Kolkata. Situated at Tiretti Bazar, Kolkata, the shop has been a safe haven for all attar lovers, historic and common. Established in 1824, this attar shop turned 200. Neyazuddin Allah Buksh, the 8th generation running this family shop, dived into the history of the shop saying, "We came to Calcutta in 1800 with my great grandfather Sheikh Jaan Mohammad Sahab. Haji Khuda Buksh and Haji Nabi Buksh were the sons of Sheikh Sahab. We were originally from Lucknow; business was really bad there because there was constant war with the Britishers, revolts, and independence movements. Hence, we shifted to the then capital of India. Calcutta was also one of the main ports for international trade; coming to this city was an obvious choice.

- MOHUL BHATTACHARYA

Calcutta was famous for its zamindars, rajas, and the elite Babus who were the collective connoisseurs of attar. Thus started the family trade and lineage of smell-sellers, The shop has had patrons from all walks of life. From the great poet Rabindranath Tagore to Nazrul Islam, Netaji Bose, Motilal Nehru, Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, General Shah Nawaz, almost every icon of Bengal has been to this shop, which sells liquid gold in a bottle. The shop was originally on Baithakkhana road, Lebutala, but then shifted to Burra bazar where they have stayed for the last 200 years.

They export all over India, because it is a trusted brand and they have their own workshop, their own factories, both in Kolkata and Kanauj, Uttar Pradesh.