Giti is an Indian-Australian and came to Australia in 1985 when she was only a few months old. Her parents migrated from Singapore, where they lived from 1980 to 1985. Giti’s mother is a practicing GP and her father is an Engineer who had retired a few years ago.
She Graduation in Psychology and Sociology from Sydney University and Post-Graduation degree from Macquarie University, also in Anthropology. Her main focus in life has been on developmental issues afflicting the underprivileged sections of diverse communities. Giti developed a keen interest in Indian perfumes about a decade ago and did a lot of research on them. She has since been running the company called Guna Natural (www.gunanatural.com) that specialises in natural skin care products and Indian perfumes. To further enhance the exposure of Indian perfumes to Indians as well as outside world and develop new raw materials and perfumes, Giti decided to pursue a PhD in Indian perfumes and industry. She is currently in India for a year doing field and research work.
She has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in a range of capacities, on affirmative action in medical education as well as native title. With her cousins, Giti co-founded FOBGAYS in 2018, a community organisation that celebrates South Asian LGBTQIA+ people. The group also participated in two Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parades in Sydney.
Her emotional connect with the underprivileged took her to India for her Post-Graduation thesis on Dalits in India. Giti had also spent some time working for an NGO (Indicorps) in Gujarat and that’s when she had decided to change her career. Originally, she was studying to become a Clinical Psychologist.
Giti was encouraged by a friend in Sydney to enter the competition sponsored by Estée Lauder. She is one of the five finalists in her category and the winner will be decided on 4 Nov in Mumbai after the final presentations. Currently, there is a community voting underway for the candidates which will help in deciding the eventual winner.
She has been given the name Havah for her venture and is in the second category of the competition.
Havah draws from India’s rich heritage of perfumery, art and philosophy, to develop a unique perspective on the power of fragrance in contemporary life. Crafted for the curious and connoisseurs alike, our perfumes are an immersive sensory experience, designed to evoke emotions and make moods. Embedded in community, Havah both honours the deep, embodied knowledge of attar artisans whilst experimenting with innovation and evolution and marrying the best of precious, natural aromatics with modern sensibilities and ethical practices. In essence, Havah conceptualises a distinctly modern, Indian aesthetic of perfumery, building upon our rich legacy in new ways.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy3Lk5GrTNr/?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
Community can vote through the following link https://beautyandyouawards.com/community-voting/giti-datt
Her entry of the perfume Attar Mitti won a gold award recently in Australia in a competition of natural perfumes.
