As the opening redolent notes of Thumri, the profoundly rooted light-classical genre of Hindustani music, begin to render themselves, the first whiff of romance impacts you, elevating and leading you on to gradually a symphony of love, passion and enamoured exotica. On offer now is very much the same deep rootedness, recreated and bottled as a new chic ‘eau de parfum’, coming from the Perito Moreno line of perfume artistry through the masterful, magical spin of Dixit Artisan.
It’s indeed ‘Thumri’, the perfume with a classical concoction that brings the ‘thumak’, the spring in your step, as you don it; taking you through a mesmerizing olfaction odyssey. A surge of the arousing refrains of ‘thumri’ is evoked initially with the fervent rupture of Indian Dark Rose interwoven delicately with the soft Turkish Rose. An accompaniment to this amorous tryst with the soft, velvety ‘Powdery Iris Flower’, is reminiscent of the undulating expressions of a classical ‘kathak’ danseuse. The smoky and surreal ‘Oud Dust tincture’ intrigues the senses like a rivetting rendition of the ‘sthaayi’ of a Thumri composition.
Like the raga of a thumri unravels, when the swaras of the ‘antara’, i.e., the heart notes ascend to a crescendo pitch, this perfume wafts, gloriously uplifting, with the rich and luxuriant Taif Rose, making its presence felt right at the centre. The interludes of the Black Turmeric and Delicate Ginger render the remote nuance to the whole ‘bandish’, leaving you stunned with their wonderful twists.
The Dark Aged Patchouli provides the cadence of the tabla, keeping the composition grounded with the ‘theheraav’, the poise. The essence of the incense rises through the air, creating the sacred ‘naada’, experienced and felt in the tenor of the precincts of an Indian temple. The insertions of the Green Oil of Spikenard and Bulgarian Tobacco, render a lush, aromatized depth, enabling a vision of a faraway paradise land.
The vaadi swaras, i.e., the base notes take hold of you, and their echoes linger and never leave you for a very long time. The core of the fragrance of ‘Thumri’ is composed of these, with the hazy, woody, Laos Oud reverberating and leaving behind a permanent stamp of passion and devotion. The other note being Musk, submerges you in an arousing, warm feeling, leaving you with an everlasting recollection of a night dipped in love.
The samvaadi swaras, the Benzoin Sumatra and Focalized Amber are the sub dominant kind of notes, exuding a soft, amber-hued backdrop, which can be paralleled with the beguiling glow that pervades on the back of an enthralling performance of the ‘thumri’.
Shades of the Civet and Castoreum notes are akin to the ‘vivadi swaras’, that bring in an animalic texture, stimulating the primal pinings.
The culminating touches of the notes of Vanilla Tincture and Labdanum are the ‘anuvaadi swaras’, of the raaga of the ‘thumri’ enveloping you in a passionate embrace, like the namaskar gesture by a thumri exponent after performing a rendition that stays with you for the rest of your life, which you would always associate with a sense of comfort and longing.
 The whole musical spectacle reaches final summation with the earthy and marine signatures of Oak-Moss and Ambergris Accord.
Wearing a ’Thumri’ is far more than donning an eau de parfum. It is akin to experiencing the wonderful emotions that one goes through while listening to renditions of the ancient semi classical, Hindustani art form. With a delicate ‘lagaav’ of each note, a soft whisper of its scent, you would tend to be both the artist, and the canvas; rendering the romance, weaving a story of love, wishes and aesthetic steadfastness.
Dixit Artisan, the designer of ‘Thumri’ has triumphed by putting in all his love and passion into making this masterpiece, taking it much beyond the status quo of a perfume, enabling you to transcend, and live the exotic experience, locked in every balmy note, like every scented swara, note in a musical thumri.