Camel

Camel camphor is white camphor pressed into small tablets, packed in a resealable pouch. It is the karpooram, or kapur, that ends a pooja: lit on a plate and waved before the deity while the family sings the aarti. The pack is marked for pooja use only and not for medical use.

On our shelves Camel sits in pooja essentials, within our personal care and household department. One pouch lasts many weeks of daily prayers.

Place one or two tablets on a camphor plate or in the small cup of an aarti lamp, light them with a match, and wave the flame in slow circles before the shrine. Families light it at the end of the evening lamp, on Fridays and full moon days, at Navratri, Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi, and at a griha pravesh when moving into a new home. It burns away completely and leaves almost nothing behind, which is the point of the ritual. A tablet or two in a cloth bag also sits in a wardrobe or drawer for its sharp scent.

Let the tablets burn down on a heatproof surface, away from curtains, flowers and children, and never leave the flame alone. Seal the pouch, as camphor slowly evaporates in the air. For green pachai karpooram, wicks and agarbathi, see the rest of the pooja shelf, and for festival items browse Navratri puja essentials.