Paan Patta- Betel Leaves
Paan Patta (Betel Leaf) is a stimulating, psychoactive preparation of betel leaf combined with areca nut and/orcured tobacco. Paan is chewed before spitting or swallowing. Paan has many variations. Slaked lime paste is commonly added to bind the leaves. Some South Asian preparations include katha paste or mukhwas to freshen the breath.
Paan Chewing: Trend & Culture in India
In ancient India, women used to chew Paan to acquire a redness on their lips and mouth, serving as a primitive lipstick. Some regarded Paan as a medicinal substance and an aphrodisiac drug. The practise of chewing Paan was adopted by Buddhism and thus the habit widened beyond India and moved to China, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand Cambodia, Malaysia, Sumatra and Bali. Paan is also identified as the cultural cause of high precancerous lesions or leukoplakia often leading to serious cancers in the oesophagus; Paan's ingredients are high in narcotic making it invariably addictive and thus detrimental. The habit of spitting out the chewed betel is also believed to aid the spread of diseases like tuberculosis.
Betel leaf used to make Paan is produced in different parts of India. Some states that produce betel leaf for paan include West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh. In West Bengal two types of betel leaves are produced. These are "Bangala Patta (Country Leaf)" and Mitha Patta (Sweet Leaf)". In West Bengal, Bangla patta is produced mainly in district of Dinajpur, Malda, Jalpaiguri, and Nadia. Mitha patta is produced in places such as Midnapur and South 24 Parganas.
The skilled Paan maker is known as a paanwala in North India. In other parts, paanwalas are also known as panwaris or panwadis. At North India, there is a tradition to chew Paan after Deepawali puja for blessings.
Paan is losing its appeal to farmers because of falling demand. Consumers prefer chewing tobacco formulations such as gutka over paan. Higher costs, water scarcity and unpredictable weather have made betel gardens less lucrativeIn the Indian state of Maharashtra the paan culture is widely criticised due to the cleanliness problems created by people who spit in public places. In Mumbai, there have been attempts to put pictures of Hindu gods in places (walls, etc.) where people commonly tend to spit, but success has been limited. One of the great Marathi artists P L Deshpande wrote a comic story on the subject of paanwala (paan vendor), and performed a televised reading session on Doordarshan during the 1980s in his unique style.
