What makes musk attar and perfume timeless?

The small bottle rested inside an old wooden box, carried from one generation to another. It once belonged to a grandfather who used to keep a dab of Musk attar on their prayer rug. His children remembered that faint, calming scent long after he was gone.

Years later, when the lid of that bottle (Mesk-e-Amber) was opened again, the fragrance was still alive, as if time had refused to touch it.

For Raiyan, that bottle became more than a fragrance; it was a piece of family memory preserved in scent.

Musk has walked through history with unmatched presence. Ancient records mention how Aristotle described the allure of fragrances, while Galen, the Greek physician, believed scents like Musk could influence both the body and the soul.

In the Islamic Golden Age, Avicenna carefully wrote about Musk's medicinal and spiritual qualities in his Canon of Medicine.

Even in China, during the Tang dynasty, Musk was brought along the Silk Road, treated as a rare treasure.

Today, though modern perfumery is saturated with countless synthetics, Musk remains alive both in attars and in designer perfumes, and even in niche perfumes.

Musk Oud by Kilian, White musk by The Body Shop, Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle, Jovan musk, Narciso Rodriguez For Her (Musc Collection), Arabian Oud's Musk Al Tahara, Rasasi Musk Hareer, Al Haramain Musk, Ajmal Musk Gazelle, etc., stand as very different examples.

Some lean toward the soft and powdery, some are sharp and animalic, and others melt into sweetness—but all carry a common undertone of warmth and depth that lingers longer than most other notes.

At Armanitola, an old perfume shop tucked inside the busy lanes, just beside the Armenian Church, the shopkeeper spoke while arranging small glass bottles, "People here may try fancy brands, but when it comes to lasting power, musk attars never fail. They're the ones buyers keep coming back for."

In Baitul Mukarram Market, a different voice came from a younger seller, "Musk is like a bridge. Older customers remember the pure attars, younger ones ask for modern perfumes with musk. Both sides meet in the middle."

From Gulshan's DCC Market, the seller had a more direct take, "If someone buys musk Oud or musk Al Tahara once, they rarely forget it. It becomes a signature smell for them. I've seen customers wear it for weddings, religious gatherings, even everyday office use."

The role of musk here was less about fleeting fashion and more about permanence.

But Musk’s pull is not just in shops. A young office-going boy outside Karwan Bazar, Tarique Hasan, said, "I started using White musk because it felt clean, not heavy. My colleagues noticed it, and somehow it became part of how people recognise me now."

A 33-year-old banker, Rafiqul Islam, sitting inside a café, shared a different perspective regarding this attar. He says, "For me, musk is calming. After dealing with numbers all day, I prefer something soft like Rasasi musk Hareer. It gives a kind of peace."

A streetside shop at TSC, where low-priced attars are sold in small vials, attracts the students. While laughing, the shopkeeper says, "Students come here asking for cheap versions of musk-based Attars. They want that same long-lasting smell without spending big."

Their character changes shape depending on the context—sometimes wrapped in golden packaging for the high-end customer, sometimes poured into a small roll-on vial at a campus corner. Yet the essence is the same.

Musk brings continuity in an age that is constantly chasing the new.

That may be why musk, more than most scents, is linked with memory. From ancient physicians and poets to modern-day shopkeepers and bankers, the story of musk has always been about endurance. The old bottle from the grandfather's prayer rug still whispers this truth: time may move, fashions may change, but the eternity of musk carries on.

raiyanjuir@gmail.com