A customer buys incense sticks from Gopal Mishra Naadan at the Saras Mela in Patna. Picture by Ashok Sinha

Patna, March 13: Gopal Mishra Naadan and Annapurna Mishra, residents of Adilabad, 300km away from Hyderabad, have come a long way in the past 19 years.

The couple own a self-help group, which makes incense sticks. Starting off with only Rs 11, now they make a yearly profit of Rs 7 lakh. And this month, they came to Patna to spread the fragrance of their incense. The group’s stall number 111 at the 12-day Saras Mela, which concluded today, drew people from far and wide with the fragrance of their incense sticks. From 50gm sticks priced at Rs 12 to 6kg incense sticks priced at Rs 4,500 that leaves their smell for at least 52 hours, the stall had it all. Gopal said they had incense sticks with 85 different fragrances, including rose, jasmine, sandalwood and others.

Recounting the initial days of the business, Gopal credits his wife Annapurna for all their success. It was her endurance that led to the inception of the business, Gopal said.

“My wife is a woman of substance. When I married her, I never realised she was so enterprising. After two years of marriage, she came to know my grandfather made incense sticks for a living. My father chose not to carry on the business but my wife decided to revive it. She told me making incense sticks was an art and we should not neglect it,” Gopal said.

Initially, it was only Annapurna who took on the business. Gopal joined her four years later. “In 1992, with only Rs 11 she bought the basic materials and made the sticks. But she failed to get a good response from the shopkeepers, who were not convinced about the quality of the products. Her turning point came in 1993 when she met Ramchandra Reddy, then the rural development minister of Andhra Pradesh,” said Gopal.

The minister was so impressed by Annapurna’s confidence, Gopal said, that he promised her help in setting up an unit. The district rural development agency (DRDA) arranged skill training for 12 women and their first exhibition was held in Hyderabad in 1993.

He added: “The DRDA provided us Rs 12,000 and helped our group to learn customer relations and intricacies of business. Later, Andhra Bank also extended a loan of Rs 1 lakh and the DRDA arranged for a shed and an auto trolley for the business and we made a profit of Rs 30,000. Today, there are 250 women in our group and everybody earns Rs 3,500 each month.” The proud husband does not shy away from admitting that he calls his wife malkin (owner).

Gopal said their sale of incense sticks have fetched them several awards over the years, including one at Sri Lanka in 2003 for selling Rs 4 lakh worth incense sticks. They have also won awards at the Saras melas in the different states. “This is my first time in Patna. The customers have really liked our incense sticks and they came back to get more,” he added.

Ranjana Singh, a homemaker, said: “On Friday, I bought a packet of their incense sticks. The fragrance lasted for more than four hours, instead of only an hour like the normal ones. I went back the same day to buy more to last at least six months.”