Happy Hari’s line has expanded from Meena Supreme and Gold Nag Champa to what is essentially two full new incense lines, both of which are replacements for previous lines that have been shifting around a bit. There are two series, one that features eight incenses all matching up with different types of yoga, and another that we’ll talk about later that is something of a “King of Incense” line, a line where some of our most recently reviewed incenses have ended up (with some name changes). So in many ways Happy Hari’s catalog changes kind of reflect the whole incense industry as a whole at this point, during a time where quality ingredients are becoming quite scarce and adjustments are being made – here you’re seeing slight changes to packaging and labelling.
However, it seems like I was sent almost two versions of the Sutra line, versions that were almost completely different. The first batch, which contained a few samples, was noticeably inferior to the second batch I received later. Assuming they were the same, I reviewed these four incenses from the samples only to find they were different in the next batch. For instance, the Yama Sutra incense was a charcoal in the first batch, but not in the second. But I’ve edited this so it now reflects what you should find in the packages you buy.
I would describe the Sutra line as something of a mix of styles, it would be very difficult to describe the range as a whole, as there are some very different incenses at work here. The line seems to be roughly split into one charcoal incenses, one masala hybrid and six champa and/or fluxo incenses. I thought about discussing the incenses in terms of how they match up with particular styles of yoga, as to be fair this seems to be the goal of the range, but in the end I can imagine few end users will be matching them up in such a way.
Asana Sutra is the charcoal incense. An early version of this incense seemed to be more of a charcoal hybrid similar to Madhavadas family incenses, but the actual released version seems to be a straight charcoal, although for the format it seems to be relatively clean. The first sample of this incense reminded me of some ayurvedic mixes and had enough benzoin in the mix to be classified as something of a loban. The released version is quite similar, especially in that it’s a mild aroma, but it seems to be much spicier and the loban similarities have mostly disappeared. The issue with such a mild charcoal incense is that it would probably take more samples than I have to describe it with any acuity, but for such a format this seems to reduce most of the issues (such as bitterness and smokiness) with charcoal.
Dharana Sutra has changed radically since my original review. This is the first incense in the line that makes me think Happy Hari went to some ends to really improve this group as Dharana is just as worthy of praise for different reasons. This isn’t a champa incense per se, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the base is a masala/charcoal hybrid of some sort, analagous to Madhavadas family incenses. But my what an aroma, it’s almost oud-like with its balance of quality wood oils and gentle florals. My guess is some age might take a bit of punch out of the stick since it’s so heavy in oils, but it should take a long time given the strength.
At first, I thought the original sample of the Dharana scent ended up as Dhyana, they’re both thick and sweet durbar incenses. The previous version of Dhyana Sutra looked to be something of a Honey Dust or Satya Natural type variant. The new and improved version is something of a musk champa, one that reminds me of Blue Pearl’s excellent version from a decade or two ago. This incense has quite a bit of similarity to Shroff’s Shanti incenses, although I think I like the sweeter and sugary direction here, it helps to balance out the heavy tanginess that Shanti exhibits. I do get a touch of citrus that the description gives, but fortunately it’s not overbearing. Overall, this is a truly excellent scent, the first in this group I’ll add to our Hall of Fame list.
Niyama Sutra has also become a much better incense than what was in the first batch, and if the Dhyana was the musk champa in this group, than surely the Niyama is the patchouli champa. The patchouli champa style was quite prevalent in the halmaddi days and was a unique combination that transmuted the qualities of patchouli into something with a pleasantly burnt type of aroma. On the other hand there was a generic patchouli champa that used to be part of a dipped range of champas that wasn’t quite as successful but had some interesting elements in that it had a bit of a crayon subaroma and a mellower patchouli vibe. The Niyama Sutra is more in the middle, it has the crayon subaroma as well as a slight touch of the old patchouli champa scent and comes off being fairly friendly overall. The description gives vanilla and rose, so it’s quite possibly my detection of patchouli is largely because this reminds me of patchouli champa, but I detect more of the former than latter. Still, very nice.
Coming up as soon as I can get them written up, the last four incenses in the Sutra range (Pranayama, Pratayahara, Samadhi, Yama), the “King of Incense” range, and four new scents from Dhuni. Thanks once again to Paul at Happy Hari for his generosity.
