History of a soap

Have you seen the Margo neem soap? Most of us have but did you that it is more than 100 years old? Though it is owned by Jyothy Labs today, this soap is actually a part of our history.

Though the name of the person who made this soap was never got as famoys - Kolkata-based (Khagendra Chandra Das, he was one of the pioneers or our Swadeshi movement, a chemist and this soap was then manufactured under the Calcutta Chemical Company.

Made with India’s homegrown materials, this product was made affordable, as a means to dismantle the authoritarian monopoly of British-made goods in the market. While he also created a talcum powder named Lavender Dew to cater to a more affluent population, it was Margo soap and the Neem toothpaste that stood the test of time and became a household name not just in India but even abroad.

Interesting tidbit – it was Satyajit Ray who designed the logo for Das’s Margo soap.

Indeed there is so much of history that we never knew and probably so much more we will never know.