Kannauj Town
Kanauj Town, 1908
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Kannauj — Ancient city in Farrukhabad District,
United Provinces, situated in 27 degree 3' N. and 79 degree 56' E., 2 miles from
the grand trunk road and the Cawnpore-Achhnera Railway, and close
to the Kali Nadi (East). The Ganges once flowed below its walls, but
is now some miles away. Population (1901), 18,552. The town finds
no mention in the Mahabharata, but the legend of its foundation is
given in the Ramayana. Kuslnabha, the founder, had a hundred
daughters, all but the youngest of whom scorned the hermit, Vayu.
In revenge he cursed them, and their backs became humped, whence
the city was called Kanya-kubja, or ' the crooked maiden.’ Early in
the Christian era Ptolemy refers to Kanauj as Kanogiza. The town
was included in the Gupta dominions in the fifth century ; and when
the Gupta empire fell to pieces it became the capital of the Maukharts,
one of the petty dynasties which arose in its place. In the sixth
century it suffered from war with the White Huns and their ally, the
king of Malwa ; but early in the seventh century it was included in
the great empire of Harshavardhana in Northern India.
The Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsiang, who visited this monarch and travelled with him from Allahabad to Kanauj, describes the magnificence of his court. Harshavardhana's death was the signal for anarchy, and the detailed history of the following years is unknown. In the latter half of the ninth century a dynasty of Raghuvansi kings reigned from Kanauj, which was also called Mahodaya, over an extensive dominion. One of these kings was defeated in 917 by the king of Gujarat, but restored by the Chandel king of Mahoba. In 1019 Mahmud of Ghazni plundered Kanauj, which now came into the power of the Rathors, the most celebrated of whom was Gobind Chand (n 15-55). Nearly 200 years later, in 1194, Muhammad Ghori defeated Jai Chand, the last of the Rathor kings, and the great kingdom of Kanauj came to an end- Under the Muhammadans Kanauj became the seat of a governor, but lost its old importance. In the fifteenth century it was included for some years in the Sharki kingdom of Jaunpur ; and when Mahmud, son of Firoz Tughlak, lost his hold on Delhi, he resided here for a time. It was close to Kanauj, though across the Ganges in Hardol District, that Humayun was defeated by Sher Shah. Under Akbar, when order had once been restored, Kanauj entered on a long period of peace, and it is recorded in the Ain-i-Akbari as the head-quarters of a sarkar. During the eighteenth century it belonged sometimes to the Nawabs of FarrukhSbad, again to the Nawabs of Oudh, and at times to the Marathas.
The town or kingdom of Kanauj has given its name to an
important division of Brahmans, and to many subdivisions of lower
castes. Of the Hindu buildings which must have graced the place,
nothing remains intact. The fine Jama Masjid, built in 1406 by
Ibrahim Shah of Jaunpur, was constructed from Hindu temples, and
the site is still known to Hindus as Salta kl rasoi, or ' Sita's kitchen.'
There are many tombs and shrines in the neighbourhood, the most
notable being those of Makhdum Jahaniya south-east of the town,
and of Makhdum Akhai Jamshid 3 miles away, both dating from the
fifteenth century. The most conspicuous buildings are, however,
the tombs of Bala Pir and his son, Shaikh Mahdi, religious teachers
who flourished under Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. The neighbourhood
for miles along the river is studded with ruins, which have not been
explored. The town lies on the edge of the old high bank of the
Ganges, and, but for the high mounds and buildings described above,
is not distinguishable from many places of similar size. The houses
are fairly well built but small, and the most conspicuous modern
building is a fine sarai recently completed. The dispensary, tahsil,
and munsift are at Sarai Miran, 2 miles south of Kanauj. The town
is administered under Act XX of 1856, with an income of about
Rs. 4,000. It is famous for its scent distilleries, where rose-water, otto
of roses, and other perfumes are produced, which have a great reputa-
tion. Calico-printing is also carried on, but is not so important an
industry here as in Farrukhabad city. There was formerly a small
manufacture of country paper, and a cotton gin has been worked at
intervals in the last few years. The town school has 113 pupils and
two primary schools 96. There is also a flourishing aided school,
housed in a fine building.
B: Perfumes
=Plant- based smell-alikes of Western perfumes
As of 2025
Neha.Shukla, Sep 26, 2025: The Times of India
Even before walking into India’s ‘perfume capital’, the first whiffs hit you. Sometimes it’s the sweetness of rose, sometimes a heady trace of jasmine, and on other days, you could swear you’ve just smelt Giorgio Armani’s ‘Acqua di Gio’ waft through the air. In Kannauj’s Bara Bazar, shelves glint with tiny bottles sealed in gold, holding everything from mitti attar’s earthy nostalgia to uncanny recreations of Dior and Chanel. Perfumers here are mixing tradition with science to make attars similar to luxury scents.
The process begins with decoding chemical components of international perfumes and substituting them with plantbased ingredients that carry a similar olfactory character. This is easier said than done, since it is difficult to decipher the complete recipe of a luxury perfume. Science may identify a few compounds, but perfumers have to rely on instinct and experimentation for the rest.
“That’s why we catch the notes or scents of the perfume,” says Nishish Tiwari, a second-generation attar-maker. “A perfume has several notes, like the top, middle, and base. We try to understand the base note and make an attar similar to it. If the base is rosy, we use rose as an ingredient, and if it’s woody, we use sandalwood or Oud wood.” But there are key differences. Most perfumes are alcohol-based sprays and may have a chemical composition, while attars use natural oils. But now, many perfumers in Kannauj are also experimenting with spray-based attars, using alcohol as a solvent. Synthetic versions, made using chemical solvents like dioctyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, are cheaper but lack depth. “Experiments are the need of the hour,” said Vivek Mishra, convener of the Global Forum for Kannauj Itra Udyog. To mark 75 years of India’s Independence, he created UD75 — an attar blending 75 fragrances. He said many entrepreneurs have been reluctant to step out of their comfort zone, which has kept the industry from reaching its full potential. “The industry has many challenges, but now that people are innovating, it may give attars a fresh appeal.”
Kannauj’s attars have long been prized for being 100% natural, distilled from flowers, herbs, spices and woods. Globally, it’s known for eight classics — rose, jasmine, mitti (clay), kewda, genda, kesar, henna and shamama. At the heart lies sandalwood oil, the most valued base, which absorbs other scents but is rare and costly — making natural attars expensive. Rose attar remains the crown jewel, made from Indian Damask roses and selling at Rs 15-18 lakh per kilo.
Attar is made through the ‘deg-bhapka’ method by digahas (master distillers), using copper vessels, bamboo pipes, clay seals, and steam distillation to extract floral essence into oil. “It’s made from fresh blossoms. The only exception is saffron. Flowers transported from outside will dry on the way and have no essence left,” explained Shakti Vinay Shukla, director, Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre. “In kewda season, perfumers go to Odisha to distil on the spot, then bring the attar back here.”
