Palanpuri Attar

Palanpur, the headquarters of Banaskantha, has a fragrant and distinguished heritage — it lent its name to “Palanpuri” attar, a tradition of natural, alcohol-free perfumery, and it is the ancestral home of the celebrated Palanpuri Jain community. Attar — concentrated perfume distilled from flowers, herbs and spices — has long been associated with Palanpur, and the town’s name became a byword for fine fragrance. This perfumery heritage reflects an old culture of refinement and trade. Palanpur is equally famous as the original home of the Palanpuri Jains, a community that rose to extraordinary prominence in the global diamond trade — many of the great diamond houses of Mumbai, Antwerp and the world trace their roots to Palanpur, a remarkable story of enterprise from this small Gujarat town. The town itself, an old princely capital, carries the character of this heritage — of fragrance, faith (its Jain temples) and far-reaching trade. For the visitor, Palanpur’s attar and merchant legacy is an unusual and refined thread in Banaskantha’s story — best appreciated through the town’s heritage and its fragrant traditions. (The perfume and merchant heritage of Palanpur; an old princely town; a cultural-heritage attraction.)