History

1950s: Tracing the evolution of this brand takes us back in time to the 1950s, to the foothills of the popular Rockfort Temple in Trichy. A modest retail store, known as Ayyer Sandal Shop or more traditionally, Ayyer’s Sandana Kadai, was doing brisk business, selling pooja items to devotees who thronged the temples in the vicinity.

From vibudhi (sacred ash), kumkum (vermillion), sandal wood, sandal paste, agarbattis (incense sticks) and items for abishegam (special prayers) like panneer (rose water), diraviya podi (aromatic powder), the store offered a wide range of pooja items and soon acquired a name for itself in quality, integrity and price, besides becoming a sought-after destination for sandal pulp.

1970s: Over the years, agarbattis became a firm favourite in each household and sensing an opportunity, Ayyer Sandal Shop turned manufacturer, making agarbattis with different fragrances. By the 1970s, the growth of this venture sparked off a brand, ‘Sree Chamundeswari’, under which several products were manufactured.

One such product was dasangam (perfumed flora), available in powdered form. The success of this new variant inspired its makers to introduce the product in the shape of cones, for convenience of use. After over four decades since this innovation, the cone shaped dasangam still continues to spread its divine fragrance in millions of homes.

1990s: The spate of innovations didn’t stop there. In the 1990s, instant sambrani sticks, popularly known as Computer Sambrani, was launched, again to great success. Suddenly, pooja items saw a new dimension in their use – convenience. What was earlier in powdered form and difficult to store and use was now available in easy forms and shapes, for instant applications.

2000s: Sree Chamundeswari established a 12000 sq ft manufacturing unit, ‘Sree Hariprasath Industries’, in Kambarasampettai, Trichy near the banks of the Cauvery River. This furthered the reputation of the brand as a professional and quality-conscious player in the industry. The unit is equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure to generate wood dust, the base ingredient of all the products under the Chamundeswari umbrella.

Over the years, both productivity and innovation flourished as premium quality products like the Computer Sambrani Deluxe and Loban Dhoop cups were introduced. Each of these products, armed with its own identity and fragrance, has gone on to become leaders in their own right, in the southern parts of India.