It's funny and humbling how at times things turn out to be. Sometimes things come to fruition in ways you wouldn't have planned or imagined.
I was once contacted by a fellow oud vendor who was visiting UAE and we arranged for a meet up, and when oud heads meet up, you surely know how it goes!
I brought a collection for sniffing and sampling, and one of the boxes had my personal blends and oud oils that I used.
We were talking and catching up, sniff this, sniff that, until at one point I started giving him swipes of my personal ouds. He tried some and then paused at one oil.
"What is this one? this blend. I want a tola"
At that time, I have designed this blend as a personal creation. Deer Musk, Woods, Roses and Florals, as well as of course; a number of ouds....hindy ouds to be specific.
I told my friend that there's no one tola of this one. it's only this bottle that I made for myself and I just wanted to share my creation with him.
My friend was disappointed. He closed his eyes, gave it another sniff and said:
"This scent puts me in a total different place. It's a whole vibe. I feel transported into a Mughal's King court in old times. the scent reminds me of an attar that was known to be used in the Mughal's royal courts."
I found that to be really interesting. My vision behind what's known now as "BadShah" was to accomplish an olfactory harmony between deer musk, high grade traditional hindy oils, which are all smoothened by velvet florals and woody base. I wanted the profile to smell and feel old. Old in tradition and spirit.
We ended our meet up and my friend flew back home. Months go by and I get a message from him, insisting on recreating the same blend for him as he wants some!
Luckily I had the formula written down somewhere. Until I found that notebook, took a look at the ingredients and realized that I still luckily have enough to make another batch.
I went further and consulted him about the name. "Badshah" he suggested. So there you go! Badshah it is.
The character is 100% Hindy, yet, far from your usual "rose & oud" blends. Badshah showcases the hindy character in a different light. Engulfed with a bed of lush roses and a woody base, smoothened with some creamy sandalwood and deer musk sweetness, the outcome is a sophisticated luxurious hindy blend which exhibits tradition and spirit.