A friend has been bringing us packages of incense that both Lauren and I like very much. A few weeks ago I asked our friend to show us where we can find the incense. “Hey,” she said, “it’s Sunday, and the fellow who has the stuff will be at the Portobello Market.” We followed her. “The incense comes all the way from Tibet,” she added with a big grin, “but he has a steady supply.” It did not take us long to get to the market from Artesian Road. “He’s here!” whispered our friend excitedly when she spotted the man through the racks of clothing hanging from every stall. I bought the whole lot of incense he had with him. “I’ll have more for you next Sunday,” he smiled apologetically. Walking out of the market, I started reading the text on one of the boxes: “Satya Sai Baba—Nag Champa—Agarbatti.” Good stuff, no doubt. “Export Quality,” a round seal boasted. The name of the manufacturer was in smaller letters: “Shrinivas Sugandhalaya, Bangalore.” “Hey,” I grabbed our friend’s arm, “this is from Bangalore in Southern India rather than from Tibet!” She shrugged her shoulders: “Oh, well!”

Addendum (March 5, 2021)

When I came across this piece entirely by chance, I almost laughed out loud. A stick of incense was burning next to me, and it was the very same one still. I regularly buy it in a store offering all sorts of Indian products in the center of Zagreb not far from my beloved’s apartment building. I immediately got up to fetch one of the boxes some way from my table, and nearly everything I found on it was the same as in this piece. The only difference was in the spelling of Bangalore, the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka, which is now officially known as Bengaluru. Most important, though, the fragrance of Nag Champa Agarbatti has never changed. Not an iota, as a matter of fact. Judging by the pictures of the manufacturer, Shrinivas Sugandhalaya, which I quickly found on the World Wide Web, this is how things are likely to stay till my last breath. My impression was that not much had changed in it over many a decade. And this realization gave me enormous joy, I must confess. Satya Sai Baba is most likely dead by now, but it would be wonderful to give him a long and hard hug. Well done, old man! My heartfelt congratulations!