How an Indian taught the world to Shampoo...

In 1784, a Bengali muslim from Patna emigrated to Ireland, fell in love with a "pretty Irish girl of respectable parentage" and eloped with her to London. His name was Din Muhammad. The Englishmen could not pronounce his name. So, he duely anglicized it to Dean Mahomed. Though he belonged to the "Nai" or barber caste, he claimed he was a Sheikh and that he had connections with the Nawab of Bengal. He wanted to be called Sheikh Din Muhammad, but he had to settle for Sake Dean Mahomed.

In the process, Sake Dean Mohamed became one of the earliest Indian immigrants to England. He introduced the western world to Indian cuisine, by starting a restaurant in London - Hindoostane Coffee House. The restaurant offered, amongst other items, hookah with real chilm tobacco, and many Indian dishes. It didn't do too well and had to be shut down.

In 1794, he wrote a book - The Travels of Dean Mahomet - and thus became the first Indian to author a book in English.

But the most significant contribution of this adventurous young man was the introduction of something called Champoo, a.k.a Shampoo, to Londoners and hence to the west.

Therein lies a tale.

Will it surprise you to learn that the word Shampoo entered the English language from India during the colonial era. It is derived from the Hindi word Champoo, which is itself derived from the Sanskrit root Champayati, which means to press, knead, or soothe.

Since the ancient days, in the Indian subcontinent, a variety of herbs and their extracts have been used as hair cleansers. One method was boiling soapberries with dried Indian gooseberries (amla) and a selection of other herbs, and using the strained extract to create a lather. This lather leaves the hair soft, shiny and manageable. Another product used was Shikakai. There were many such methods.

Cleansing the hair followed by a body massage (Champoo) during one's bath was a regular indulgence for Indians. And Nais or barbers across generations had learnt this art and skill of Champooing.

Now, Mahomed also worked in London for one Mr. Basil Cochrane, who had installed a steam bath for public use in his house and promoted its medical benefits. There, Mahomed introduced the practice of Champooi or "shampooing" (or Indian massage). 

In 1814, Mahomed and his wife moved to Brighton, 75 kms south of London, and opened the first commercial "shampooing" vapour masseur bath in England.

He described the venture in a local paper as The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath, a cure to many diseases, giving full relief when everything else fails; particularly rheumatism and paralysis, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame legs, aches and pains in the joints. 

This business was an immediate success and Dean Mahomed became known as Dr. Brighton. Hospitals referred patients to him and he was appointed as shampooing surgeon to both King George IV and William IV.

He also wrote two books on the subject:

Cases cured by Sake Dean Mahomed, Shampooing Surgeon, and Inventor of the Indian Medicated Vapour and Sea-Water Bath (1820)

Shampooing; or, benefits resulting from the use of the Indian medicated vapour bath.

Sake Dean Mahomed died in 1851, but his Shampoo had caught on. Slowly it spread across Europe and then to America, and ironically came back to India in a synthetic form, in a bottle.

The irony was - India, once a practitioner of natural Champooi, now became a consumer of synthetic Shampoo.

And only the rich could afford it!

Until, one Mr. C K Ranganathan, the son of an agriculturist and small-scale pharmaceutical packaging entrepreneur named Chinni Krishnan, from Puducherry, launched India's first shampoo in sachet form - Chik shampoo - at price point of INR 1, in 1983. The rest as they is history. Today 75% plus of all India Shampoo sales are in sachets. And Chik shampoos are case-studies in B-schools across the world. The story of Shampoo came a full circle!

On 15 January 2019, Google recognised Sake Dean Mahomed with a Google Doodle. This post salutes one of modern India's earliest successful emigrant-entrepreneurs and the first Indian to author a book in English - Sheikh Din Muhammad.