Strolling through Devaraja Market one day, in search of incense and essential oils, I stopped by this young man's stall displaying joss-sticks and multicolored vials. He spoke english, of course, and even a little French and he turned out to be of good advice and a fount of information. To wit: he informed me that the sandalwood oil trade is a state monopoly in Karnataka, from sandal forests to bottled essences. He warned me: "don't go to the cheating markets. They'll sell you official-looking sealed bottles, but they'll remove the real oil with a syringe, to replace it with synthetic stuff."

All Photographs Copyrighted © Michel Polizzi 2000