NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (KUNA) — Traditionally, chewing paan (betel leaf) was a past-time of the rich and the elite in India, or perhaps South Asia before partition of earlier India into Pakistan and Bangladesh.
It signified “class” and grandeur of those who chewed paan showing red lips and munching it slowly between their jaws, savoring every bit of it. It was seen a part of lavish lifestyle then.
Up until the 1970s, the practice was considered to be falling in such high-class that anyone from the middle or lower class chewing paan was looked at with much awe, and people took him to be going against the set customary traditions.
The practice of chewing paan was much linked to the elite royal Muslim families in the city of Lucknow, the capital of northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
Subsequently, youth in the late 1970s and early 1980s “revolted” against the set traditions and took to paan, though not openly; they would wash their mouths before going home so that the elders would not come to know about it.
As the times changed, the hobby of the elite class turned into one of the average citizen. Now, this commodity has come of age, and is available in hundreds of varieties — including chocolate and many other sweet flavours. Some are even covered with gold or silver foil to give a “royal touch.” Paan shops which once used to be located at street corners, now take on a more cosmopolitan look by turning into air-conditioned paan-parlours. One such is “Yamu’s Panchayat,” located in the heart of the Indian Capital Connaught Place. The price of paan here ranges between 40 cents and USD 22, and comes in different varieties of chocolate, vanilla, and sweet paan made of Gulkand (rose petals).
Shantam, the owner of Yamu’s Panchayat, said, “Paan eating was hated because people used to spit red in public. But, our paan is spit free, hygienic and beneficial for health. We have changed the very concept of chewing paan. We use all natural ingredients so that none of them is injurious to health.” Lower wall corners in most of the government offices and public toilets bear the brunt of the paan eaters. Often drenched in red spits, these walls now carry notice boards, “No spitting please.” He adds, “We tend to provide people with a different cultural blend without age-old traditions and the modern times where people like to lead a life with a traditional Indian touch, reminiscing of times when only the elite could have access to hobbies like chewing paan.” If Shantam is to be believed, if one eats one or two paans in a day, he or she will never have cancer. “The veins of the paan leaf has anti-cancerous properties. It has been tried and tested that if a person eats one two paan everyday, without tobacco, he or she will never have cancer.” Citing other qualities of the paan, he said, “The chuna put into the paan is a form of calcium which strengthens your bones. Likewise, fennel and supari helps in digestion, and Gulkand which is made of rose petals gives long lasting natural fragrance to one’s mouth.” Lately, more and more of young girls and married women are taking to eating paan, as it is available in a large number of sweet flavours.
Essentially, the ingredients of a paan are betel (dry or wet), fennel, fragrance, supari, ilaichi, sugary paste (Gulkand), jaggery etc.
While most of the world puts its hands out for a mint post meal, Delhi still likes to go the old fashioned way. This is why you will find Delhiites picking up the fragrant betel leaf, paan in localspeak, to end a big, satisfying meal. And although the act of finishing a meal with a paan is an age-old Indian custom, Delhi’s paanwallahs have given the leaf a new twist, making it fashionable to go for this fragrant digestive. After all, whatever Delhi does, it does in style.