Something to lighten the mood

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Earthen ware incense burner...you put a hot ember of coal or cow dung, sprinkle the powder on top, it usually needs replacement every few months.
Some fragrances are sold as lumps, you break them up before use.
A mind boggling variety of ncense is available, ranging from frankincense, sandalwood, rose, lavender and so on in natural and synthetic varieties.
The electric version is basically a 1k5 fusible resistor fixed under a flat plate...
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If you search for 'dhoop burner', you will find many creative versions of these items, which are random net images, no links to me...

There are also some plants whose stems and leaves are crushed and heated, excellent natural insect repellents.

And if you need a room cleared in a hurry, just put a whole red chilli on a hot surface... in an emergency, set it on fire, beware that it burns faster than you expect, handle with tongs or similar.
Almost as effective as tear gas, lots of coughing and watering eyes will be observed.

Please do not try it with a super strong chilli like the Scotch Bonnet, we use ordinary sun dried chilli. That is adequate.

There was a scene about this in a Hindi film, it was 'Mr. Natwarlal', IIRC, Amitabh Bachchan as the lead actor...he blows red chilli powder off his palm into the discharge stream of a table fan, the guards get distracted, he escapes...
 
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My factory is in a village outside the city, plenty of cow pie available for the asking.
It is used for worship and also cremation, added to wood logs.
There are even square logs made from extruded dung, those are easier to handle.

More seriously, an ember of burning wood or charcoal, or the electric incense heater can be used, and there are available an item called 'dhoop stick', which is lit and placed in a ceramic base, it does not need external heat.
A sample, off the net:
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I have no ties to this seller, it is a very common item here, easily available in general stores.
'Loban' refers to the scent material, frankincense or benzoin, at times blended with other fragrances.

The image posted by Galu above is also quite representative of this item, but most of those sold here do not contain cow dung.

Joss sticks, in contrast, have the fragrant material used as a coating on a thin twig of wood, Banboo is commonly used, a small portion is left bare for putting in a holder.
 
I used it off and on, the thing cracked, replaced once, it is basically pottery material which has not been fired in a kiln.

I used to heat charcoal on a gas stove, once it started glowing, I would put it in the earthen burner, and sprinkle incense on top.

The quality of the fragrance was in a different class from dhoop sticks, worth the trouble of cleaning it every day.
Then I found other fragrances, as sticks, and shifted to those...

As an analogy, and an ex smoker, it is like a pipe compared to a cigarette.
I detest the habit now, and it is a health hazard, I simply offer it as an analogy for comparing the depth and different notes emitted by the dhoop upon being sprinkled on a hot coal, in comparison to a joss stick...some good quality dhoop sticks come close.
But nobody has been able to make sticks of at least two powders, which contain dry rose petals, I must use an incense burner for that.

An innovative use for joss sticks were as a delayed action fuse, the perpetrators in the school hostel would light a cheap joss stick on the cast iron flush tanks, those were about 8 feet high.
The joss stick would have a firecracker fuse wound around it, some distance away from the lit end.
Cheap ones have very low smell and smoke, ideal for this...
The victim would be communing with nature, trousers around ankles, and suddenly would be subject to a loud bang...

The rest I leave to your imagination.

At least that should bring a smile to those who read this post...
 
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