Craft · Purpose
Flowers that adorned the Gods of Udupi
Every day, Udupi's temples are filled with flowers offered in devotion. We collect them, and the women of Navunda give them a new life.
10 October 2026 · 1 min read
The Journal
Notes from Navunda on the herbs, the hands and the thousand-year-old traditions behind every Udupi Sugandha aroma stick.
Latest · Diwali Gift
Sustainable Diwali Gifts: How to Choose a Deepavali Gift That Lasts
Sustainable Diwali gifts are handmade from natural materials, packed without plastic, and meant to be used or kept rather than thrown away. One example is a box of hand-rolled, charcoal-free aroma sticks from Udupi Sugandha, a maker in Navunda, Kundapura, Udupi, Karnataka, packed in a Channapatna wooden keepsake box.
19 October 2026 · 6 min read
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Aromas · Lavancha
Lavancha: the calm lies in the roots
Most plants keep their scent in their flowers. Lavancha, also known as vetiver, keeps it in its roots, and that is where its grounding calm comes from.
5 October 2026 · 1 min read
Heritage · Ritual
Dhoopana: Udupi's 1,000-year-old ritual of herbal smoke
Long before aroma sticks, Udupi's households prepared a room for a new mother and her baby with dhoopana, gently smoking lavancha and other herbs through the room.
1 October 2026 · 1 min read