Ram Raj
I am unsure whether Ram Raj is the name of the incense or perhaps the brand. The manufacturer could not be determined, as only the importer is mentioned on the packaging: Mahararishi Ayurveda Products, who also apparently import Suraj – Mysore Sandal Bathi. The company is based in the Netherlands.
I bought Ram Raj at the end of 2022 from Sala24 for €2.69. The package contains 20 grams, which in this case was 11 sticks. That comes to €0.24 per stick. The shop has since delisted them.
On the packaging, it says: “Hand made in India from finest Sandalwood, purest oils, herbs, and spices.”
The sticks appear extruded and are noticeably shorter than the packaging suggests. They take up about 21 centimetres, roughly fitting between the two band ornaments.
Ram Raj needs a lot of air to unfold. The scent is not overly strong, but very dense. Indoors, this leads me to perceive the scent as tart and soapy, even with wide-open windows. The scent has something of the dry-oily characteristic that I’ve noticed in other sandalwood or chandan incense sticks. Here, however, it also seems waxy and soapy.
Apart from that, I find a very pleasant honeyed sweetness and hints of spices.
In the fresh air, Ram Raj really blossoms. Outdoors, there’s no trace of the tart soapiness, unless you stand really close to the burning stick.
What wafts around is a wonderful sweetness, balsamic and soft, with a note of sandalwood oil. The spices also come more to the fore and gain a bit of clarity. I think I smell some cinnamon, but beyond that, I can’t identify anything.
Despite the soapy aspect of Ram Raj, I find the scent lovely when burned outdoors.
When Max and I spent a Saturday afternoon on the balcony last summer and had one of these sticks burning, I noticed a guy sneaking around the house. When I approached him, it turned out he was looking for the source of the pleasant scent. “Are you running a perfume factory up there?” he asked me. XD
We ended up chatting for quite a while. I learned that you can grow Jerusalem artichokes here. His wife had planted some in their garden. She makes a kind of potato pancake from the rhizomes, and the plant grows almost man-high and has beautiful yellow flowers, like small sunflowers. Later, he even brought us one of the flowers and a small portion of rhizomes (which were delicious).
I am always amazed at how incense brings people together. It wasn’t the first time something like that happened. 🙂