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The wood scented by the gods
Believed to be scented by the Gods, Sandalwood
or Chandan as it is called in Hindi, is
considered sacred by most of the Indians.
It is the wood from which idols and prayer
beads are made. The Parsis feed their sacred
fires with it.
Being a wood with a heavenly smell, it
is extensively used in cosmetic and soap
manufacturing. The beauty-conscious Indian
women used to rub their bodies with a sandal
and turmeric paste for a blemish-free skin
much before the western cosmetic industry
made inroads into India. In many parts of
the country, brides still have their ritual
bath with sandalwood paste.
Growing the Sandalwood
Sandalwood grows mainly in India in the
state of Karnataka. The state accounts for
about 70 per cent of the production, the
rest mainly coming from Tamil Nadu and Andhra
Pradesh. The tree grows naturally in fertile
tropical forestlands with abundant rainfall.
It is also cultivated.
The tree is a root parasite. Soon after
germination, the seedling finds a host and
derives nourishment from it. It grows about
10 meters high, has a girth of one-and-a
half- meters and lives for over a 100 years.
Only trees older than 30 years are exploited
for wood. India has over 70 varieties of
this exotic species. About ten of them have
been found to be hardy and are cultivated.
A 30-year-old tree usually yields 100 to
250 kilograms of scented hardwood and the
quantity increases if the tree is older.
History of Sandalwood Tree in India
Till 1916, Karnataka, then the princely
state of Mysore, was exporting sandalwood
to France and other European countries for
the extraction of oil. But during World
War I when huge stocks of wood piled up
in the state, an oil-extraction unit in
Mysore and another one at Shimoga was set
up. Since then, Mysore became synonymous
with sandalwood oil.
Sandalwood Legends
A popular saying is that no other tree
can grow where the sandalwood does. The
reason for this belief could be the fact
that the root of the tree is supposed to
suck in all the required nutrients needed
for its growth from the nearby trees. Another
belief says that the smell of the wood is
so intoxicating that snakes are said to
wrap themselves around the tree.
Sandalwood Uses
The inner wood or heartwood is used for
carving and the bark when powdered is an
important raw material in the manufacture
of agarbatis. For the extraction of oil,
used by the cosmetic and soap industry,
the tree has to be uprooted, for it is the
roots that have the highest percentage of
oil.
Even spent wood after oil extraction is
an important raw material in agarbati manufacture.
Sandalwood scrapings are powdered and sold
in pouches. The powder makes an excellent
face and skin pack.
A Hindu home usually
has a billet of the wood which is rubbed
on a stone plate sprinkled with water and
the resulting paste is applied to the foreheads
of idols during puja.
An ancient Indian
remedy for prevention of sunstroke is a
glass of cold milk scented with a drop of
sandalwood oil. This drink is also supposed
to prevent boils and other skin ailments
caused, according to the Indian school of
medicine, by excessive heat in the body.
Karnataka has the Gudigars, families that
for generations have been engaged in sandalwood
and ivory carving. They are concentrated
in Sagar and Sorab regions in Shimoga district
and are trained in the craft from childhood.
While the Gudigar men make idols, figurines
and knick-knacks like penholders, agarbati
stands, cuff links, photo frames and paper
clips, the women are adept at making garlands
and wreaths out of thin layers of scraped
sandalwood.
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