Fragrances Product In India Cultural Studies Essay

Culture is defined as the social and political forces that influence the growth of a human. It is very important to study on the culture of the product targeting country, because culture sufficiently influences the consumers in many ways. Therefore we should introduce the culture first.

Indian culture is diverse, rich and as a result unique in its special way. Manners, ways to communicate with one another are one of the important components of Indian culture. Even though Indian have accepted modern means of living, improved lifestyle, Indian values and beliefs still remain unchanged. A human can change his way of clothing, way of eating and living but the values in a human always remains unchanged because they are deeply rooted into Indian hearts, mind, body and soul which we receive from Indian culture.

The culture of India is one of the oldest and exclusive cultures in the world. In India, there is amazing cultural diversity throughout the country. The South, North, and Northeast have their own distinct cultures and almost every state has carved out its own cultural niche. There is hardly any culture in the world that is as varied and unique as India. India is a vast country, having variety of geographical features and climatic conditions. India is home to some of the most ancient civilizations, including four major world religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. [] 

A combination of these factors has resulted into an exclusive culture- Indian culture. Indian culture is a composite mixture of varying styles and influences. In the matter of cuisine, for instance, the North and the South are totally different. Festivals in India are characterized by color, gaiety, enthusiasm, prayers and rituals. In the realm of music, there are varieties of folk, popular, pop, and classical music. The classical tradition of music in India includes the Carnatic and the Hindustani music.

India, a place of diversity, is fascinating with its ancient and complex culture, dazzling contrasts and breathtaking physical beauty. Among the most remarkable features of India, is the arts and culture in particular. The Indian culture has persisted through the ages precisely for the reasons of antiquity, unity, continuity and the universality of its nature. Thus within the ambience of Indian culture one can identify ‘Indian Music’, ‘Indian Dance’, ‘Indian Cinema’, ‘Indian Literature’, Indian Cuisine’ ‘Indian Fairs and Festivals’ and so on.

Indian culture treats guests as god and serves them and takes care of them as if they are a part and parcel of the family itself. Even though when Indian don’t have anything to eat, the guests are never left hungry and are always looked after by the members of the family. “Respect one another” is another lesson that is taught from the books of Indian culture. [] Helpful nature is another striking feature in Indian culture. Indian culture tells us to multiply and distribute joy and happiness and share sadness and pain. It tells Indian that Indian can develop co-operation and better living amongst themselves and subsequently make this world a better place to live in.

Nowadays the Indian Culture has crossed the geographic boundaries and has extended globally. No matter Indian or a person from any other country, will be attracted

by the exuberant Indian Culture and traditions.

1.1 Life philosophy and Religion of Indian

Religion influence

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Figure 1 Religions in India [] 

Religions have played the most crucial role in Indian life values. Besides Christianity and Islam, all the other four major religions practiced in India, namely Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and Jainism, were born in India and have exerted a powerful combined impact on the Indian thought and philosophy of life. After centuries’ evolution, Hinduism is the majority religion with 80.5% of the population of India. Islam (13.4%), Christianity (2.3%), Sikhism (1.9%), Buddhism (0.8%) and Jainism (0.4%) are the other minor religions followed by the people of India according to the 2001 census.

A religion can be defined as a system of belief in the supernatural, omnipotent and omnipresent power, which controls the destiny of humankind, called ‘God’, and who is entitled to obedience and worship. Religion is the personal relationship of humans with God and hence there could be said to be as many religions as individuals. However, some propounded faiths are followed by groups of people and these have come to be called as ‘Religions’ in common parlance. The contribution of different religious faiths practiced in India to values related to peace and harmony are summarized below:

Hinduism has not been proposed by any single individual but has evolved through the ages. As an ethical religion it enunciates four aims of life (a) ‘Dharma’ (observance of religious and ethical laws); (b) ‘Arth’ (living an honest life); (c) ‘Kama’ (satisfying legitimate desires); and (d) ‘Moksha’ (attaining salvation through emancipation from birth and death and unity with God. Hinduism believes that through moral life humans are elevated to greater spiritual heights. Towards this end, the practice of ‘Yam’ and ‘Niyam’ are prescribed. ‘Yama’ implies: (a) ‘Ahimsa’ (non -injury to others); (b) ‘Satya’ (truth); (c) ‘Asteya’ (non-stealing); (d) ‘Brahmacharya’ (celibacy during the first 25 years of life); and (e) ‘Apar Graha’ (non-acquisitiveness).Niyam implies: (a) ‘Shaucha’ (cleanliness); (b) ‘Tapas’ (awakening of vital forces); (c)’Santosh’ (contentment); and (d) ‘Swadhyaya’ (self study/analysis). ‘Shanti’ (peace) is the highest craving of all Hindus. This includes peace within and peace without. After every ceremony or religious recitation, Hindus pronounce ‘Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti!’ i.e., peace to men, peace to forces of nature, and peace to the entire universe. http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/images/CMScontent/Image/hinduism.jpg

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Islam believes the following behaviour-based values: (a) Honesty; (b) Meekness; (c) Politeness; (d) Forgiveness; (e) Goodness; (f) Courage; (g) Veracity; (h) Patience; and (i) Sympathy.

Christianity pursue: (a) Love of God and fellow humans; (b) Good conduct for a happy life; (c) Not losing one’s soul for worldly gain; (d) Worship of God and service to humankind; (e) Repentance for pardon; (f) Justice, fortitude and temperance; and (g) Avoidance of vices, and sins.http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_ucgW2iVH2I/T5FEpulXG3I/AAAAAAAAAgo/ye4IYB2S3g4/s1600/nat+geo+india+2.jpg

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Sikhism advocates the following moral values: (a) Truthfulness; (b) Humility; (c) Charity; (d) Dignity of labor; (e) Character of a saint and the strength of a soldier; and; (f) Noble deeds.

Buddhism believes: (a) that right understanding, thought and speech, together with moral peaceful conduct, mental discipline and wisdom, eliminate the causes of suffering in life; (b) that material welfare is only a means and not the end; (c) that a pure life, based on moral and spiritual principles, leads to happiness; (d) that kindness, goodness, charity and truth win over their opposite sentiments; (e) that compassion should be the driving force of action; and (f) that contentment and tolerance are keys to peace and happiness. True renunciation, according to Buddhism, does not mean running away from the world. It is considered more courageous and praiseworthy to practice Buddhism by living among fellow human beings, while helping and serving them.

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Jainism proposes the following values: (a) Live and let live; (b) Souls within us are immortal and potentially divine; (c) Self-discipline, moral conduct and self-purification are the goals for spiritual perfection; and (d) Individuals, communities, nations, races. [] 

Religion tolerance

Before proceeding further discussion we should also discuss the often repeated statement that all religions have mutual respect for each other. This seems that natural as we are told that all religions lead to a common goal – unity with the Supreme. These thoughts are indeed important. But what is it that inculcates respect about a certain thing? What is the meaning of respect? Respect is defined as high opinion or regarded as for a high quality. In itself it implies recognition of superiority in the thing that is respected. One cannot have respect for something inferior.

When a member of one religion claims that he respects another religion, he obviously does not recognize the other religion higher than his own. And if he does consider another religion as superior to his own, it is but natural that he should get himself converted to the other religion, but he does not do so implies that the word respect for him does not connote recognition of superiority or regard for a higher quality. What the term respect implies is tolerance and non-interference as regards other religions.

Again, if one religion respects other religions, there would be no conversions into that religion. We know that almost every religion wants to convert members of other religions to it and every religion considers itself the true faith, while other religions are untrue and their members are either pagans, infidels or heretics. Hence it would be inconsistent with the true and evident spirit of religion to say that one religion respects others, what can utmost be said is that while some religions tolerate other religions, most others do not.

In my opinion, it needs to be conceded that in India, the pantheistic character of Hinduism, the religion of the majority, has been conducive to the survival of religious tolerance. [] 

Family

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Indian family culture is regarded as the most important part of its culture. A family typically has a powerful influence over choices made by its individual members, and of their communities.

In India, people learn the essential idea of cultural life within the bosom of a family. In most of the country, the basic units of society are the patrilineal family unit and wider kinship groupings. The most widely desired residential unit is the joint family, ideally consisting of three or four patrilineally related generations, all living under one roof, working, eating, worshiping, and cooperating together in mutually beneficial social and economic activities. Patrilineal joint families include men related through the male line, along with their wives and children. Most young women expect to live with their husband’s relatives after marriage, but they retain important bonds with their natal families.

Despite of the continuous and increasing impact of urbanization, secularization, and Westernization, the traditional joint household, both in ideal and in practice, remains the primary social force in the lives of most Indians. Loyalty to family is a deeply held ideal for almost everyone.

Large families tend to be flexible and well-suited to modern Indian life, especially for the 67 percent of Indians who are farmers or agricultural workers or work in related activities. As in most primarily agricultural societies, few individuals can hope to achieve economic security without being part of a cooperating group of kinsmen. The joint family is also common in cities, where kinship ties can be crucial to obtaining scarce jobs or financial assistance. Numerous prominent Indian families, such as the Tatas, Birlas, and Sarabhais, retain joint family arrangements even as they work together to control some of the country’s largest financial empires.

The joint family is an ancient Indian group, but it has made some changes in the late twentieth century. Although several generations living together is the ideal, actual living arrangements vary widely depending on region, social status, and economic circumstance. Many Indians live in joint families that deviate in various ways from the ideal, and many live in nuclear families–a couple with their unmarried children–as is the most common pattern in the West. However, even where the ideal joint family is seldom found, there are often strong networks of kinship ties through which economic assistance and other benefits are obtained. Not infrequently, clusters of relatives live very near each other, easily available to respond to the give and take of kinship obligations. Even when relatives cannot actually live in close proximity, they typically maintain strong bonds of kinship and attempt to provide each other with economic help, emotional support, and other benefits.

As joint families become ever larger, they are inevitably divided into smaller units, passing through a predictable cycle over time. The breakup of a joint family into smaller units does not necessarily represent the rejection of the joint family ideal. Rather, it is usually a response to a variety of conditions, including the need for some members to move from village to city, or from one city to another to take advantage of employment opportunities. Splitting of the family is often blamed on quarrelling women–typically, the wives of coresident brothers. Although women’s disputes may, in fact, lead to family division, men’s disagreements do so as well. Despite cultural ideals of brotherly harmony, adult brothers frequently quarrel over land and other matters, leading them to decide to live under separate roofs and divide their property. Frequently, a large joint family divides after the demise of elderly parents, when there is no longer a single authority figure to hold the family factions together. After division, each new residential unit, in its turn, usually becomes joint when sons of the family marry and bring their wives to live in the family home. [] 

Variations in Family Structure

Some family types bear special mention because of their unique qualities. In the sub-Himalayan region of Uttar Pradesh, polygyny is commonly practiced. There, among Hindus, a simple polygynous family is composed of a man, his two wives, and their unmarried children. Various other family types occur there, including the supplemented subpolygynous household–a woman whose husband lives elsewhere (perhaps with his other wife), her children, plus other adult relatives. Polygyny is also practiced in other parts of India by a tiny minority of the population, especially in families in which the first wife has not been able to bear children.

Among the Buddhist people of the mountainous Ladakh District of Jammu and Kashmir, who have cultural ties to Tibet, fraternal polyandry is practiced, and a household may include a set of brothers with their common wife or wives. This family type, in which brothers also share land, is almost certainly linked to the extreme scarcity of cultivable land in the Himalayan region, because it discourages fragmentation of holdings.

The peoples of the northeastern hill areas are known for their matriliny, tracing descent and inheritance in the female line rather than the male line. One of the largest of these groups, the Khasis–an ethnic or tribal people in the state of Meghalaya–are divided into matrilineal clans; the youngest daughter receives almost all of the inheritance including the house. A Khasi husband goes to live in his wife’s house. Khasis, many of whom have become Christian, have the highest literacy rate in India, and Khasi women maintain notable authority in the family and community.

Perhaps the best known of India’s unusual family types is the traditional Nayar taravad , or great house. The Nayars are a cluster of castes in Kerala. High-ranking and prosperous, the Nayars maintained matrilineal households in which sisters and brothers and their children were the permanent residents. After an official prepuberty marriage, each woman received a series of visiting husbands in her room in the taravad at night. Her children were all legitimate members of the taravad . Property, matrilineally inherited, was managed by the eldest brother of the senior woman. This system, the focus of much anthropological interest, has been disintegrating in the twentieth century, and in the 1990s probably fewer than 5 percent of the Nayars live in matrilineal taravads . Like the Khasis, Nayar women are known for being well-educated and powerful within the family. [] 

Malabar rite Christians, an ancient community in Kerala, adopted many practices of their powerful Nayar neighbors, including naming their sons for matrilineal forebears. Their kinship system, however, is patrilineal. Kerala Christians have a very high literacy rate, as do most Indian Christian groups.

Adulthood

A young married couple starts to take adult responsibilities. These include work inside and outside of the home, childbearing and childrearing, developing and maintaining social relationships, fulfilling religious obligations, and enhancing family prosperity and prestige as much as possible.

The young husband usually remains resident with his natal family, surrounded by well-known relatives and neighbors. The young bride, however, is typically thrust into a strange household, where she is expected to follow ideal patterns of chaste and cheerfully obedient behavior.

Ideally, the Hindu wife should honor her husband as if he were her personal god. Through her marriage, a woman becomes an auspicious wife, adorned with bangles and amulets designed to protect her husband’s life and imbued with ritual powers to influence prosperity and procreation. At her wedding, the Hindu bride is likened to Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth, in symbolic recognition of the fact that the groom’s patrilineage can increase and prosper only through her fertility and labors. Despite this simile, elegantly stated in the nuptial ritual, the young wife is pressed into service as the most subordinate member of her husband’s family. If any misfortunes happen to befall her affinal family after her arrival, she may be blamed as the bearer of bad luck. Not surprisingly, some young women find adjusting to these new circumstances extremely upsetting. A small percentage experience psychological distress so severe that they seem to be possessed by outspoken ghosts and spirits.

In these difficult early days of a marriage, and later on throughout her life, a woman looks to her natal kin for moral and often economic support. Although she has become part of another household and lineage, she depends on her natal relatives–especially her brothers–to back her up in a variety of circumstances. A wide range of long visits home, ritual obligations, gifts, folklore, and songs reflect the significance of a woman’s lifelong ties to her blood relatives.

By producing children, especially highly valued sons, and, ultimately, becoming a mother-in-law herself, a woman gradually improves her position within the conjugal household. In motherhood the married woman finds social approval, economic security, and emotional satisfaction.

A man and his wife owe respect and obedience to his parents and other senior relatives. Ideally, all cooperate in the joint family enterprise. Gradually, as the years pass, members of the younger generation take the place of the older generation and become figures of authority and respect. As this transition occurs, it is generally assumed that younger family members will physically care for and support elders until their demise.

In their adult years, men and women engage in a wide variety of tasks and occupations strongly linked to socioeconomic status, including caste membership, wealth, place of residence, and many other factors. In general, the higher the status of a family, the less likely its members are to engage in manual labor and the more likely its members are to be served by employees of lower status. Although educated women are increasingly working outside the home, even in urbane circles some negative stigma is still attached to women’s employment. In addition, students from high-status families do not work at temporary menial jobs as they do in many Western countries.

People of low status work at the many menial tasks that high-status people disdain. Poor women cannot afford to abstain from paid labor, and they work alongside their menfolk in the fields and at construction projects. In low-status families, women are less likely than high-status women to unquestioningly accept the authority of men and even of elders because they are directly responsible for providing income for the family. Among Sweepers, very low-status latrine cleaners, women carry out more of the traditional tasks than do men and hold a relatively less subordinate position in their families than do women of traditional high-status families. Such women are, nonetheless, less powerful in the society at large than are women of economically prosperous high-status families, who control and influence the control of more assets than do poor women.

Along with economically supporting themselves, their elders, and their children, adults must maintain and add to the elaborate social networks upon which life depends. Offering gracious hospitality to guests is a key ingredient of proper adult behavior. Adults must also attend to religious matters, carrying out rites intended to protect their families and communities. In these efforts, men and women constantly work for the benefit of their kin groups, castes, and other social units. [] 

Hierarchy

India is a hierarchical society. Within Indian culture, whether in the north or the south, Hindu or Muslim, urban or village, virtually all things, people, and groups of people are ranked according to various essential qualities. If one is attuned to the theme of hierarchy in India, one can discern it everywhere. Although India is a political democracy, in daily life there is little advocacy of or adherence to notions of equality.

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Figure 2 The hierarchy of the India sociaty

Castes and caste-like groups, those quintessential groups, with which almost all Indians are associated or are ranked. Within most villages or towns, everyone knows the relative rankings of each locally represented caste, and people’s behavior toward one another is constantly shaped by this knowledge. Between the extremes of the very high and very low castes, however, there is sometimes disagreement on the exact relative ranking of castes clustered in the middle.

Castes are primarily associated with Hinduism but also exist among other Indian religious groups. Muslims sometimes expressly deny that they have castes–they state that all Muslims are brothers under God–but observation of Muslim life in various parts of India reveals the existence of caste like groups and clear concern with social hierarchy. Among Indian Christians, too, differences in caste are acknowledged and maintained.

Throughout India, individuals are also ranked according to their wealth and power. For example, there are “big men” (bare admi , in Hindi) and “little men” (chhote admi ) everywhere. “Big men” sit confidently on chairs, while “little men” come before them to make requests, either standing or crouching down on their haunches, certainly not presuming to sit beside a man of high status as an equal. Even men of nearly equal status who might share a string cot to sit on take their places carefully–the higher-ranking man at the head of the cot, the lower-ranking man at the foot.

Within families and kinship groupings, there are many distinctions of hierarchy. Men outrank women of the same or similar age, and senior relatives outrank junior relatives. Several other kinship relations involve formal respect. For example, in northern India, a daughter-in-law of a household shows deference to a daughter of a household. Even among young siblings in a household, there is constant acknowledgment of age differences: younger siblings never address an older sibling by name, but rather by respectful terms for elder brother or elder sister. However, an older sibling may address the younger by name.

Even in a business or academic setting, where colleagues may not openly espouse traditional observance of caste or class ranking behavior, they may set up fictive kinship relations, addressing one another by kinship terms reflecting family or village-style hierarchy. For example, a younger colleague might respectfully address an older colleague as chachaji (respected father’s younger brother), gracefully acknowledging the superior position of the older colleague. [] 

What India Culture Today is Iike

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India culture today was influenced by the ancient culture of India, but something new is happening that is stirring up differences in Indian society. While India’s traditions and core values are pretty much the same as ever, some aspects of the culture have changed drastically. For one thing, younger generations have become more independent and have accepted new ideas from western cultures. For example, sexual expression and display of affection have been kept behind closed doors for the most part in India many past generations, while these things have been culturally accepted in the U.S. and other western countries for a long time now.

The older Indian generations still consider it taboo for a man and woman to hold each other’s hands in public, while younger couples have their own ideas of what is acceptable in India culture today. Essentially, the older generations are beginning to realize that India’s youths are a new and different generation and that they must accept these differences rather than disown their kids.

Another visible change in India culture today can be found in Indian films. Mumbai is like India’s Los Angeles, California or New York City. It’s the headquarters for production of many of the famous Indian Bollywood Movies. These fantastic films are an expression of Indian art and are filled with great music, amazing dancing, and Indian celebrities.

In the past, Bollywood films were pretty conservative in regards to the amount of skin they would reveal and the body language that dance scenes displayed. However, in the last decades, the dancing in Bollywood Films has become much more provocative and the clothing has become much racier than in films of the past. The outfits often look like something you might see on the U.S. show dancing with the Stars.

Another change to the traditional culture in India involves arranged marriages. Traditionally, parents found a marriage partner for their son or daughter and would arrange a marriage between the two.

In some cases, a man and a woman were promised to one another in their teens and had no say in the decision. Many times, the bride and groom-to-be never actually met until their wedding day!

Arranged marriages were popular for hundreds of years. This was in part because pressure from family members was so strong, but mostly because this type of marriage was deeply ingrained in the culture in India. Another factor was that divorce was considered so taboo in India. Many couples stayed together even when unhappy.

Flash forward to today, perceived independence brought change. While arranged marriages still exist, they have mutated. India culture today allows young men and women have more freedom of choice. Now many youths pick who they will marry, and most certainly have a chance to meet their future life partner.

When Indian families attempt to arrange marriages today, things are done differently. Nowadays, parents of the young man or woman will allow their kids to meet potential mates in advance. If there is not a reciprocal liking between the two, they may decline and meet other candidates.

These meetings are like auditions, or speed-dates. The difference being that your family is there with you. Can you say awkward? Well, it’s better to be uncomfortable for a potentially chemistry-free meeting, than be stuck in a prearranged marriage that may lack chemistry and make a person miserable.

Another factor for changes to Indian culture today is the influence of western culture. Many young men and women are sent to the United States, or other countries, to study and to acquire jobs. While away from India, they experience new rights of passage, independence and accept new cultural ideas.

Plus, the internet has allowed people from different countries and cultural backgrounds to connect with one another, and to keep up on global events. It’s nearly impossible for anyone to be kept in the dark about other cultures or what’s going on in the world, given current technologies. [] 

Bottom line is that India culture today is different from what it used to be, but India’s core traditions and cultural values mostly remain intact. Most important, the Indian culture today is still rich, beautiful and accepting of other cultural beliefs.

1.2 Standards of Beauty in India

This section will contain some information about beauty and perfume in India. The main focus will be beauty and fragrance culture for women, given the explained target group.

In the present day, the urban Indian woman has a cacophony of voices telling her how she should look, from television and Bollywood to fashion magazines to her family. Depending on the woman, the messages she is hearing may vary significantly from each other. As such, it is necessary to go straight to the sources-advertisements, television, magazines, and the women themselves-to determine what Indian women believe is beautiful, and, by extension, what appearance Indian women strive to attain.

It is reasonable to believe that the issues discussed here are similar to those experienced by many urban Indian women, but the rural experience, and even that of women in smaller or more traditional urban center, may be significantly different. Still, in most areas where television and similar mediums have penetrated, Indian women are likely to be absorbing some of the same messages. [] 

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The most important aspect of skin in India is, of course, a clear complexion. This feature is so important to the imagining of a beautiful Indian woman that it is emphasized in places ranging from the predictable fashion magazines to the more unexpected job advertisement.[30]However, the far more controversial aspect of complexion is that of skin tone. As noted in the historical section, Indian society has traditionally exhibited a preference for medium- or fairskinned women. In recent years, that preference for fairness has become even more obvious, and even a medium complexion is often considered not enough.

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There are three major variables when it comes to hair appearance: color, length, and texture. Initially, it might not seem that the first of these factors would be very influential in India, since the natural hair color of all or almost all Indians is the same-black. Length preference appears to have remained consistent over time-long, or at least medium, hair is almost universally preferred. As for hair texture, preferences are not as clear-cut as they first appear.

While the historical images of Indian women are dominated by curvy hourglass figures and even the occasional hint of extra fat in the stomach area, the modern ideal is all about slim figures. “Slim” is what families seek in brides for their sons,”slim and trim” is what women admire in their favorite actress‟ appearance, and being “thin” is what women get complimented on by their cousins.http://www.dawanews.com/oledit/UploadFile/20103/201037233328571.jpg

Height is another aspect of appearance worth paying attention to. Although, the modern standards of beauty in India seem to demonstrate society’s preference for tall women “with never-ending legs, [] “

1.3 India fragrance category, tradition, tendency

India fragrance category

Table 1 The composition of the India fragrance manufacturers

The traditional and in-house blender groups are composed of the first main group. The traditional sector produce attars and related products, using centuries old processes. These are usually small to medium family enterprises that use a potent mix of art and business acumen to produce a range of products, primarily using natural ingredients.

The in-house blender groups are SME(small and medium enterprise)’s and make significant proportions of the fragrances used in their products. They are large users of ingredients, especially of naturals (menthol and essential oils) and of chemical specialties. There are huge logistic and strategic challenges associated with servicing this market but these challenges are balanced by the advantage of longer fragrance life cycles.

The second main group, consisting of Indian fragrance houses is well-established firms, many of them with decades of experience. This is the most dynamic sector, both in terms of innovation as well as growth. The number of players is relatively small. As may be expected, competition for business from these is fierce. Their customer base is largely restricted to the traditional sector and Indian corporates (with a few notable exceptions).

The third group of MNC (multinational corporation)’s form the largest sector in the fragrance market. Whilst consisting of a handful of companies, they have significant establishments in India. [] 

Traditional India perfume oil: Attars

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Figure 4 The Attars made in India

The history of natural attars is very much associated to the history of Kannauj. Kannauj has been known for natural attars from the Mugal period or even earlier when aroma bearing substances like Sandal, Musk, Comphor, Saffron were used as such (without isolation of odorous principles) and the range of such materials and essential oils were further enriched during the Mugal period, when new plants were brought by the Mugals from Central Asia to this country. This lead to the discovery and development of process for the preparation of attar from Roses by Noorjahan, the Mugal queen, that was the beginning of the natural attars in India, which developed and progressed in and around Kannauj and is quite strong even now. Floral Attars may be defined as the distillates obtained by the hydro distillation of flowers in Sandalwood Oil or other base materials like DOP, DEP, Paraffin etc.

The attars of Rose & Kewra are used as flavours in Indian sweets. The main users of attars are in the Pan Masala and Chewing tobacco industry. The two product also unique to India & consume nearly 80% of all the attars manufactured. All the attars are used as perfumes by themselves. In India and middle East, attars are made as offerings to the God.

There are evidences in the history and Hindu sacred books (Holy texts) that perfumery tradition dates back to over 5000 years at the time of Indus valley civilization as well when distillation practice was reported to be in existence.

The attars are manufactured traditionally ‘Degs & Bhapka system’, which is a hydro distillation process. The still is heated form below by lighting a fire with the help of wood or cow dung. The temperature and speed of the distillations controlled by regulating the fire. The distillation is managed by highly skilled/experience, workers called ‘Dighaa’. He knows when the correct quantity of vapours have condensed inside the receiver by feeling the round part of the receiver under water. The water in the tank is change continuously to prevent the temperature rising too high. Managing the still is highly skilled job, as the operator must keep the boiling in the still at a level that matches the condensation in the receiver, in order to keep the pressure under control. When the desire quantity of vapours have condensed, the Dighaa rubs a wet cloth around the body of the still for a temporary pause in distillation and the filled receiver is replaced by another receiver. If necessary, the second may be replaced by a third receiver. The receiver is then allowed to cool and may remain idle for one or two days depending on the pressure of work. The mixture of oil and water is then separated either directly forms the receiver through a hole at the bottom or pouring the whole mixture in an open trough, After the oil and water have separated into two layers, the water is removed from an opening in the bottom, and the same is cohobated. The base material remains in the receiver. After desired concentration of the attar has been reached, then same is poured into leather bottles for sedimentation and removal of moisture. Sometimes liquid paraffin is used for the manufacture of cheaper attars. The mouth of the receiver is sealed by wrapping coarse cloth around the bamboo pipe and pushing it inside the condenser. The receiver may contain up to 5-10 kilos of base materials and is kept in a small water tank. [] 

The Indian attars in the past has been utilized by elite class of the society particularly kinds & queens on their body. With the span of time kingdoms got abolished and hence the kings & queens. But, attars industry got a new dimension form the field of fragrance to flavour and now a days it is used in the following areas;

Pan Masala and Gutka is the largest consumer of Indian attars. The reason for using its extraordinary tenacity along with characteristic to withstand with tobacco note. The attars used are rose, Kewra, Mehndi, Hina, Shamama, Mitti, Marigold etc.

Tobacco is relatively smaller segment for attar consumption as compared to above industry. The attars used are mainly kewra & Rose. Alongwith Pan masala & Gutkha it contributes to more the 75% of attar consumption.

Betlenet is relatively smaller segment for attar consumption as compared to above two industry. The attars used are mainly Kewra & Rose.

It is used by people as a personal perfume, particularly by Muslims due to absence of alcohol.

Attars does have the application in pharmaceutical industry too.

Attars of Rose & Kewra are used in traditional Indian sweets, for imparting flavour.

Tendency

Fragrance markets in India have been consistent increasing recent years. As brands look at world markets for expansion, India has emerged a strong player with an unprecedented boom in both sales and a retail growth for fragrance.Perfume Counter

Not only sales in India – rather a link to fragrance by heritage. “Like the Middle East, India has a deep history of using fragrance,” [] says Hemansu Kotecha, Managing Director, Baccarose, which distributes more than 50 brands in India. “Internationally recognized fragrance brands such as Burberry, Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, etc. are performing incredibly well in India today. The Indian fragrance market is unique in that it is equally strong in both the female and male fragrances.”

The change of focus from the Indian fragrances, known as ittar, to the global brands has been remarkable and nothing short of revolutionary. The educated, traveling Indians who have long been well versed with these brands have now been shopping in India and the brands’ own strategies of education and advertising, of wooing the Indian consumers have begun to pay off.

Industry estimates peg this number at closer to Rs 3 billion/ $67.64 billion, including the unorganized market and the indigenous fragrances. It is hard to ascertain exact numbers in India, but this much is certain: the fragrance market has been growing at 25-30 percent from 2003-2009, with the consumer spend being greatest in premium fragrances.

Liberalization of customs duties by the Indian government marked the first change in this segment and was soon followed by a growing organized retail expansion. Department store chains such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle and Pantaloon have created specific and fast growing beauty areas with fragrance getting pride of place. The consumers desire to spend and changing income patterns have led to an overall greater spending on beauty.

The mass market in India has a large potential for international brands at the right price point offering. Playboy perfumes is being distributed by Indian company J.L. Morison in India. And they look at being leaders in the men’s deodorant and fragrance category with their brands in a few years. Their strategy is simple; initially focusing on the distribution of our perfumes in department stores across India and reach to as many cities as possible.”

While import duties and a slow growth in infrastructure continue to be a problem brand distributors are upbeat about the prospect of change.

Generally fresh, floral fragrances have done well in India. There are certain preferences distinguished by seasonal climate – like strong, oriental fragrances do better in North India during winter while fresh, citrusy and aquatic fragrances do well in summer.

Strong perfumes have always been a preference as well, with woody, jasmine and sandalwood as big winners.

Brand names are important as many customers look at fragrances as a status symbol, particularly in terms of both gifts and ownership.

Larger fragrance sizes tend to be bigger winners, appealing to the value conscious customer who gets a lower cost per ml of the fragrance.

1.4 Segmentation and pretargeting

Segmentation

There are four different ways used to divide a market into specific segment, taking into account the characteristics of the consumer: geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation. In this section we are going to use demographic segmentation and divide the Indian population into two parts: urban and rural population.

The following datum are based on the paper of V. Hnatkovskay ,A. Lahiriz, “The Rural-Urban Divide in India”

India over the past three decades has been on exactly such a path of structural transformation. Prodded by a sequence of reforms starting in the 1980s, the country is now averaging annual growth rates routinely is excess of 8 percent. This is in sharp contrast to the first 40 years since 1947 (when India became an independent country) during which period the average annual output growth hovered around the 3 percent mark, a rate that barely kept pace with population growth during this period. This phase has also been marked by a significant transformation in the output composition of the country with the agricultural sector gradually contracting both in terms of its output and employment shares. The big expansion has occurred in the service sector. The industrial sector has also expanded but at a far lower pace. These patterns of structural transformation since 1983 are shown in Figure

Figure 5 Industry Distribution in urban and rural region

Notes: Panel (a) of this Figure presents the distribution of workforce across three industry categories for different NSS rounds. Panel (b) presents distribution of output (measured in constant 1980-81 prices) across three industry categories.

The sample statistics across the rounds are given in Table . The table breaks down the overall patterns by individuals and households and by rural and urban locations. Rural residents are slightly less likely to be male, more likely to be married, and belong to larger households than their urban counterparts. Lastly, rural areas have more members of backward castes as measured by the proportion of scheduled castes and tribes.

Table 2 Datum of the urban and rural

Notes: This table reports summary statistics for our sample. Panel (a) gives the statistics at the individual level, while panel (b) gives the statistics at the level of a household. Panel labeled “Difference” reports the difference in characteristics between rural and urban.

Panel (a) of Table 2 shows the distribution of the urban and rural workforce by education category. Recall that education categories 1, 2 and 3 are “illiterate”, “some but below primary education” and “primary”, respectively. Hence in 1983, 55 percent of the urban labor force and over 80 percent of the rural labor force had primary or below education, reflecting the abysmal delivery of public services in education in the first 35 years of post-independence India. By 2010, the primary and below category had come down to 30 percent for urban workers and 50 percent for rural workers. Simultaneously, the other notable trend during this period is the perceptible increase in the secondary and above category for workers in both sectors. For the urban sector, this category expanded from about 30 percent in 1983 to around 50 percent in 2010. Correspondingly, the share of the secondary and higher educated rural worker rose from just around 5 percent of the rural workforce in 1983 to about 30 percent in 2010. This, along with the decline in the proportion of rural illiterate workers from 60 percent to around 25 percent, represent the sharpest and most promising changes in the past 27 years.

Figure 6 : Education distribution

Notes: Panel (a) of this figure presents the distribution of the workforce across five education categories for different NSS rounds. The left set of bars refers to urban workers, while the right set is for rural workers. Panel (b) presents relative gaps in the distribution of urban relative to rural workers across five education categories..

We are now going to dicuss our second measure of interest: the occupation choices being made by the workforce in urban and rural areas. Our interest lies in determining whether the occupation choices being made in the two sectors are showing some signs of convergence. Clearly, there are some fundamental differences in the sectoral compositions of rural and urban areas making it unlikely/impossible for the occupation distributions to converge. However, the country as a whole has been undergoing a structural transformation with an increasing share of output accruing to services with a corresponding decline in the output share of agriculture. Are these trends translating into symmetric changes in the rural and urban occupation distributions? Or, is the expansion of the non-agricultural sector (broadly defined) restricted to urban areas only?

To examine this issue, we aggregate the reported 3-digit occupation categories in the survey into three broad occupation categories: white-collar occupations like administrators, executives, managers, professionals, technical and clerical workers; blue-collar occupations such as sales workers, service workers and production workers; agricultural occupations collecting farmers, fishermen, loggers, hunters etc.. Figure 5 shows the distribution of these occupations in urban and rural India across the survey rounds (Panel (a)) as well as the gap in these distributions between the sectors (Panel (b)).

The urban and rural occupation distributions have the obvious feature that urban areas have a much smaller fraction of the workforce in agrarian occupations while rural areas have a minuscule share of people working in white collar jobs. The crucial aspect though is the share of the work force in blue collar jobs that pertain to both services and manufacturing. The urban sector clearly has a dominance of these occupations. Importantly though, the share of blue-collar jobs has been rising not just in urban areas but also in rural areas. In fact, as Panel (b) of Figure 5 shows, the share of both white collar and blue collar jobs in rural areas are rising faster than their corresponding shares in urban areas.

Figure 7: Occupation distribution

Notes: Panel (a) of this figure presents the distribution of workforce across three occupation categories for different NSS rounds. The left set of bars refers to urban workers, while the right set is for rural workers. Panel (b) presents relative gaps in the distribution of urban relative to rural workers across the three occupation categories.

By considering disaggregated occupation categories within the white collar and blue-collar jobs. We answer the question of what are the non-farm occupations that are driving the convergence between rural and urban areas. We start with the blue-collar jobs that have shown the most pronounced increase in rural areas. Panel (a) of Figure 6 presents the break-down of all blue-collar jobs into three types of occupations. The first groups are sales workers, which include manufacturer agents, retail and wholesale merchants and shopkeepers, salesmen working in trade, insurance, real estate, and securities; as well as various money lenders. The second group are service workers, including hotel and restaurant staff, maintenance workers, barbers, policemen, firefighters, etc. The third group consists of production and transportation workers and laborers. This group includes among others miners, quarrymen, and various manufacturing workers. The main result that jumps out of panel(a) of Figure 7 is the rapid expansion of blue-collar jobs in the rural sector. The share of rural population employed in blue-collar jobs has increased from under 18 percent to almost 35 percent between 1983 and 2010. This increase is in sharp contrast with the urban sector where the population share of blue-collar jobs remained roughly unchanged at around 60 percent during this period. Most of the increase in blue-collar jobs in the rural sector was accounted for by a two-fold expansion in the share of sales jobs (from 4 percent in 1983 to almost 8 percent in 2010) and production jobs (from 11 percent in 1983 to 23 percent in 2010). While service jobs in the rural areas expanded as well, the increase was less dramatic. In the urban sector however, the trends have been quite different: While service jobs have expanded, albeit weakly, the share of sales and production jobs has actually declined.

Figure 8: Occupation distribution within blue-collar jobs [] 

Notes: Panel (a) of this figure presents the distribution of workforce within blue-collar jobs for different NSS rounds. The left set of bars refers to urban workers, while the right set is for rural workers. Panel (b) presents relative gaps in the distribution of urban relative to rural workers across different occupation categories.

Clearly, such distributional changes should have led to a convergence in the rural and urban occupation distributions. To illustrate this, panel (b) of Figure 8 presents the relative gaps in the workforce distribution across various blue-collar occupations. The largest gaps in the sectorial employment shares were observed in sales and service jobs, where the gap was 4.5 times in 1983. The distributional changes discussed above have led to a more than two-fold decline in the urban-rural gap in sales jobs. Similarly, the relative gap in production occupations has fallen by more than 100 percent. In service jobs the relative gap has fallen as well, although the drop was not as pronounced.

Next, we turn to white-collar jobs. Panel (a) of Figure 7 presents the distribution of all white collar jobs in each sector into three types of occupations. The first is professional, technical and related workers. This group includes, for instance, chemists, engineers, agronomists, doctors and veterinarians, accountants, lawyers and teachers. The second is administrative, executive and managerial workers, which include, for example, officials at various levels of the government, as well as proprietors, directors and managers in various business and financial institutions. The third type of occupations consists of clerical and related workers. These are, for instance, village officials, book keepers, cashiers, various clerks, transport conductors and supervisors, mail distributors and communications operators. The figure shows that administrative jobs are the fastest growing occupation within the white-collar group in both rural and urban areas. It was the smallest category among all white-collar jobs in both sectors in 1983, but has expanded dramatically ever since to overtake clerical jobs as the second most popular occupation among white-collar jobs after professional occupations. Lastly, the share of professional jobs has also increased while the share of clerical and related jobs has shrunk in both the rural and urban sectors during the same time.

Have the expansions and contractions in various jobs been symmetric across rural and urban sectors? Panel (b) of Figure presents relative gaps in the workforce distribution across various white-collar occupations. The biggest difference in occupation distribution between urban and rural sectors was in administrative jobs, but the gap has declined more than three-fold between 1983 and 2010. Similarly, the relative gap in clerical and in professional jobs has fallen more than two-fold over the same period.

Figure 9: Occupation distribution within white-collar jobs [] 

Notes: Panel (a) of this figure presents the distribution of workforce within white-collar jobs for different NSS rounds. The left set of bars refers to urban workers, while the right set is for rural workers. Panel (b) presents relative gaps in the distribution of urban relative to rural workers across different occupation categories.

Overall, these results suggest that the expansion of rural non-farm sector has led to rural-urban occupation convergence, contrary to a popular belief that urban growth was deepening the rural urban divide in India. [] 

Table 3 and Figure 10 below show the facts that urban residents have three larger per capita NDP than that of the rural resident and rural region have larger poverty rate. So the urban residents have higher life standard than that of rural residents.

Table 3 NET DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY ECONOMIC ACTIVITY IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS FOR THE YEAR 1999-2000 (at current prices) [] 

Figure 10 Poverty rate in India []