A French chemist and his fragrant enterprise

Rupa Gopal
 

The Maroma brand of incense, candles, joss sticks, perfumed sachets and air fresheners is well known worldwide. And it is manufactured right here in India, at Auroville in Puducherry.

The man behind Maroma is Paul Pinthon, a French pharmacist living in Auroville. Recalling his move to this spiritual commune from France, where he was working as an assistant chemist, he says he had felt "the call of Mother."  Auroville's spiritual head.

He first worked at the pharmacy in Auroville and later helped set up a library. Pinthon then worked at a bakery for a while and finally, in 1976, set up Maroma. His mornings were spent baking bread, and in the afternoons he worked with the perfumeries at Maroma.

In 1980 he took a break from the company and spent time managing a nursery; he organised the planting of 24,000 trees in Auroville. Soon, however, he realised that his company was stagnating and returned to its helm in 1984. Maroma today exports to over 25 countries. Laura Reddy, an American, joined the company in 1984 and increased the product base by adding aroma therapy products. Maroma plans to soon launch natural, tallow-free soaps.

The company follows international manufacturing standards and no animal products are used. "We promote local labour, especially women, and I insist on high quality," says Pinthon. It uses locally produced silk-screened handmade paper as wrapping material. Small lightwood display racks are hand-finished by a group of women workers - the finish is meticulous. Over 100 employees are given health benefits, nutritious snacks and savings benefits.

"We have no child labour," says Pinthon, showing us around the place, which is buzzing with the hand-rolling of joss sticks. Elsewhere a man is busy pouring hot wax into terracotta candle moulds. All the patterns are designed by Pinthon.

He takes us to the stockrooms filled with perfumed candles in mind-boggling shapes, colours and perfumes, all arranged neatly - fat, square, tall, round, slim, some with leaves and flower petals, some etched with motifs, and drip-less candles. There are vast quantities of perfumed sachets, cupboard fresheners, joss sticks, moth repellents, shoe fresheners and so on.

We enter a room where three fat candles are burning: "We are testing the wicks," explains Pinthon. "If defective, it'll be rejected."

Equally, innovation is the name of the game - candles that emanate the essence of vintage harvests: champagne and strawberries, chardonnay and figs!

Back in his uniquely designed office, I ask him what he would have done had he not come to India or had access to the cheap labour available here. "I would've done the same thing but with machinery, ensuring the same quality," he says emphatically.