Sandalwood Incense Sticks.

Before prayer, before quiet sitting, before anything that asks a great deal of the mind: in folklore, this is when sandalwood is lit, its smoke a kind of metronome for the breath. For centuries it has perfumed the temples and meditation halls of South Asia.

Each stick is a thin bamboo core, hand-rolled in a paste the color of raw wood and dried until it snaps rather than bends. Unlit, the scent is faint, a dry sweetness somewhere between cedar and warm milk; lit, it opens into something rounder and creamier, the smoke thin and pale rather than heavy.

This is a Mysore-style masala blend rather than old-growth heartwood, which has grown scarce and heavily protected, made by a small family workshop in South India.

Details

• Mysore-style masala incense on thin bamboo cores
• Paste: sustainably grown sandalwood powder, charcoal, gum and a few supporting aromatics
• Hand-rolled, then sun-dried on open racks for two full days

How to use

Light the tip at an angle until it catches, blow out the flame and let it smolder. Rest it in sand or a stick holder, tilted away from anything flammable, and never leave it burning unattended. Give the room ten minutes before judging the scent; sandalwood smoke needs a moment to unfold.

Light one at dusk, and let the room exhale.