Monika Ghurde: A perfumer obsessed with jasmine’s scent
NEW DELHI: Thirty-nine-year-old Monika Ghurde who was found murdered in her home in Goa, was a perfumer, best known for her obsession with jasmine.
Nicknamed Lady of Smell, Ghurde had swapped a career in photography for one in perfumery, training at the UK-based Picot Laboratories.
Such was her keen interest in the scent of jasmine that it resulted in a collaborative work with author William Dalrymple to trace the history of the flower since ancient times.
The entrepreneur had moved from Mumbai to Chennai in 2009, had then to Sangolda in North Goa last July to establish her own company where she worked as an independent perfumer and researcher.
It was when she opened up Mo Labs in Chennai, that she earnestly pursued perfumery. Her work involved conducting ‘smell’ workshops for adults and children, where she would educate people on developing their sense of smell, as well as research on different fragrances.
She was also researching on the effects of perfumes on human consciousness.
The globe-trotter travelled extensively to conduct her sessions, as well as take part in perfumer conferences and olfactory workshops, apart from visiting fragrance boutiques. She even collaborated with Vogue India to narrate her experiences.
A well-known name in social circles, Ghurde was found dead at her apartment close to Goa’s famous Calangute beach in a suspected case of rape and murder, police said on Friday.
She lived alone while her husband stayed in another house nearby.
Police inspector of Porvorim, JG Dalvi, said the woman’s body was found on Thursday night without clothes and her hands and legs tied to a bed in her three-bedroom apartment in Sangolda village, about 10 km from Goa capital Panaji. PANAJI: Goa police sent teams to neighbouring states to follow up on leads into the murder of perfumer Monika Ghurde, who was found naked and bound at her home in Sangolda village on October 6.
“We will be able to crack this case soon. We are working on different theories. On Friday, we sent teams to different locations, including neighbouring states,” deputy inspector general of police, Vimal Gupta said on Saturday.
Police suspect the 39-yearold was raped and murdered somewhere between October 5 afternoon and night, as she had not been in touch with anyone since then.
The cops ruled out robbery as nothing was missing from the flat, raising suspicions that the killer might have been someone Ghurde knew.
Hailing from Nagpur, Ghurde was married to photographer Bharat Ramamrutam from Tamil Nadu and was residing at Porvorim before the couple separated; she then shifted to Sangolda this year.