The jasmine, called Mallipoo in Tamil, is said to have risen to significance when the legendary king Paari spotted it during one of his hunting trips. So says a legend from one of the earliest Tamil poems of the Sangam Era, between 300 BCE and 300 CE. Another legend goes that the King of Ayodhya, Parthan devoutly worshipped Lord Shiva in a forest full of jasmine vines. Several other legends and mythological stories surround the significance of jasmine in the ancient texts. These tales allude to the prominence of the flower in the history of Tamil culture, which at the time flourished around the city of Madurai. The matron of Madurai, the Fish-eyed Goddess, Meenakshi, who is a manifestation Goddess Parvati, is adorned with mallipoo every night, in a ceremony that prepares her for her time with her husband, Lord Shiva. A commonly held belief is that the goddess’ love for the flower makes the unique variety of jasmine grown in and around Madurai, called Madurai Malligai, the most coveted one of all.

With a long lasting interest in perfumes, I had done some research and come across a wonderful lady, Dr. Uma Kannan. She is a reputed anthropologist and an expert on the Madurai Malligai. She undertook years of research and studied the social and cultural implications of the flower, its impact on the local economy and the special place it holds in the history of Madurai. I tried to get hold of her book, Madurai Malligai: Madurai and Jasmine, A Celebration, in which she details its history, its journey from the gardens to the markets and covers a whole range of subjects pertaining to the flower. But I couldn’t buy her book online, so I made up my mind to meet with her in person. The day I arrived in Madurai, my first stop wasn’t the abode of the Goddess but the abode of Dr. Kannan. I was armed with some basic knowledge of her book, reading reviews and other material available over the worldwide web.