South Asian Perfume Brand Rahasya Just Brought A DJ-Driven Rickshaw To The Streets of London

Both Sachit and I are based in Singapore. Sachit is originally from Delhi, and I’m from Vizag. We grew up across different countries - Singapore, Indonesia - but India has always been home. We visit often and have family there. There’s also a third founder, Utkarsh Vijayvargiya, who’s from Delhi and now based there. In many ways, Rahasya is our love letter to home.

Sai Pogaru: Before we even get into Rickshaw Rhythms, I’ll give you a quick TL;DR on why we started Rahasya. All three of us came from corporate jobs, and as fragrance lovers, we kept wondering - why was there no representation of our culture and identity in perfumery that wasn’t stereotypical? Every time we bought perfumes, they were Middle Eastern, French, or American. There was nothing that told our stories. So we decided to build that brand ourselves.

We quit our jobs and started working on Rahasya in January 2024. We spent almost a year building the brand and the fragrances. Our debut collection featured four scents, each inspired by everyday moments from India - visiting old bookstores, eating mangoes in the summer, attending weddings. These are familiar, intimate memories we wanted to capture through scent, but in a way that wasn’t limited to sandalwood, jasmine, or saffron. We wanted something that felt authentically Indian, yet modern and approachable.

We launched in Singapore last November, and the response was incredible. We quickly built a community that believed in our story. At some point, we asked our audience to share memories they’d want turned into a fragrance. One story stood out - a memory of riding auto rickshaws along the Chennai coast, smelling the ocean, sea salt, coconut trees, the dust, and hearing the sounds of the city all at once. It felt so visceral. We decided to bottle that as a limited-edition scent - Rickshaw Rhythms. The person who sent in the memory was also involved in the final process. It sold out within three days, and we realized it deserved to be part of our main collection.

Now, Rickshaw Rhythms is part of our next launch alongside two new scents - one inspired by chai and another by the hill stations of India, with fresh green notes and that earthy smell of rain.

Sure. We haven’t yet partnered with any retailer in London, but given it’s such an important cultural hub, we wanted to enter in a way that felt authentic and not stereotypical. We didn’t want to do another influencer dinner or glossy event. Rickshaw Rhythms, being a community-inspired fragrance, gave us an opportunity to also celebrate another part of our brand - music.

Music has always been central to Rahasya. Every post on our Instagram features South Asian artists. That led us to the idea of bringing an actual Bajaj rickshaw to the streets of London and turning it into a moving sound system, featuring South Asian DJs like Manaara, Mahnoor, Zaleel, Mya Mehmi, and Kalbaisakhi. It was our way to show that Indian culture isn’t static - it moves, evolves, and takes up space globally.

We worked for months - finding the rickshaw, getting the DJs, customizing the design, and setting it up. The shoot day was magical; the weather held up, and people on the streets of Soho were dancing, hopping into the rickshaw, just vibing with us. We’re now in post-production, and the footage looks incredible.

Sai Pogaru: We work with fragrance manufacturers who handle the raw materials and technical side of perfumery. Our perfumer is Indian, based in Singapore, and completely aligned with our vision. We conceptualize the story and mood for each fragrance and then collaborate with him to bring it to life - from choosing ingredients to crafting the final scent.

Unlike most perfume houses that chase trends, we always start from memory. What story or emotion do we want to capture? That’s our foundation.

Sachit Sood: Exactly. Fragrance is deeply subjective, so for us, it’s not about inventing something that’s never been smelled before. It’s about why it deserves to exist. We think hard about whether a fragrance adds to the cultural fabric we’re trying to represent, rather than just being another beautiful scent on the shelf.

Sachit Sood: The final teasers for Rickshaw Rhythms are almost ready - we’ll be sharing the final version very soon. The new collection will launch within the next few weeks.

Sachit Sood: Yes, Amaris was our first major retailer. Being Singapore-based, that was a natural starting point. We were told it usually takes years for small brands to get stocked there, but we approached them anyway. We believed our product and story could stand on their own. After several rounds of sampling and presentations, they took a chance on us - and it paid off. That opened doors for us in the U.S. as well. We’re now stocked at Stella in New York City and Ariel Shoshana in Virginia, and we’re in talks to expand to Australia, Taiwan, Japan, and the Middle East. It’s been a whirlwind, especially since it’s still just the three of us running everything.

Sachit Sood: India is absolutely on the cards. All our manufacturing already happens there, so Rahasya is, in essence, Made in India. But when we first started, we were advised against labeling it that way - people said premium Indian fragrances wouldn’t be trusted at a higher price point. We decided to do it anyway. The quality, packaging, and storytelling speak for themselves. We do plan to launch in India, but only when the timing and partnerships feel right. Realistically, that’s in 2027. We want to build Western credibility first, so that when we enter India, the market sees us with fresh eyes. 

Sai Pogaru: Exactly. And also, our harshest critics will always be our own families! We want to come to India having done it right - with confidence in our story and the product.

Sachit Sood: Across industries, from fashion to fragrance, there’s been a long history of inspiration drawn from India without proper credit or representation. Most of the raw materials for perfumery come from India, yet the stories don’t. We see Rahasya as a way to reclaim that narrative - to tell those stories authentically. Personally, this journey has also brought me closer to my Indian roots. It’s made me appreciate where I come from in a much deeper way.

Sai Pogaru: I feel the same. Rahasya has allowed me to rediscover sides of India I might never have known otherwise. Because of what we do, we’re constantly engaging with new artists, ideas, and creativity emerging from India - and it’s incredible. There’s so much boldness and imagination coming out of the country right now. Being part of that, even in a small way, feels humbling. Every time someone tells us a fragrance or story that resonates with them, it reminds us that we’re contributing to a bigger cultural moment - one that celebrates India’s complexity and modernity.