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Covid-19 impact: Banarasi paan goes missing, vendors left in lurch
The nimble fingers of paanwallahs, adept at wrapping the right ingredients such as rose petals, silver foil and tobacco in a betel leaf to make the perfect paan, are idle and betel leaves are rotting.
The famous “Banarasi paan” has gone missing in this city, with all shops that catered to cravings for the traditional after-meal mouth freshener having been closed as part of the lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Paan is popular across India but in Varanasi, the Banarasi paan is a must-have after a meal. Popularised by actor Amitabh Bachchan in the song Khai ke paan Banaraswala from his 1978 hit movie Don, the Banarasi paan is a favourite with everyone from politicians to film stars and the common man.
The nimble fingers of paanwallahs, adept at wrapping the right ingredients such as rose petals, silver foil and tobacco in a betel leaf to make the perfect paan, are idle and betel leaves are rotting.
Kailash Gupta, who runs a paan shop near Anand Cinema in Teliabagh area, said: “On March 21, I bought five dholis (bundles) of paan pattas (betel leaves) from Paan Dariba, Paan Mandi, and stored them at my house. I was under the impression that after the janata curfew on March 22, the markets would open the next day and I would open my paan shop too.
“But as the district administration passed an order that people would stay home for the next two days, the market remained closed and I couldn’t open my shop. Then the complete lockdown came. All five bundles of paan leaves rotted.”
He also had bookings for five marriage parties, at which paan is served after the main meal, but all the orders were cancelled because the weddings were postponed.
A bundle of paan leaves – called a “dholi” in the local parlance – comprises around 300 leaves and costs ₹300 to ₹500, depending on the quality. A dholi of Bangla paan, which comes from Kolkata, usually costs around ₹600. During summer, the price of Bangla paan increases to ₹900.
A bundle of paan leaves cannot be preserved for more than two days in summer, because the intense heat causes them to rot.
Gupta said during other seasons, the betel leaves can be preserved for up to four days.
The supply of betel leaves to Varanasi from West Bengal and other adjoining areas has completely stalled because of the nationwide lockdown as paan hasn’t been included among the essential items.
“In normal times, many tourists from south India, especially from Chennai, visit my shop to enjoy Banarasi paan. The tourists also get 10 to 20 paans packed in Mahua leaves and take them to Chennai,” Gupta said.
Recalling celebrity visits, he said actor Vivek Oberoi visited his shop in 2014 and relished the paan. Many foreigners also got paan packed from his shop and took it with them. Local residents going to Mumbai get special Banarasi paans packed for their friends there.
When actor Shah Rukh Khan visited Varanasi in July 2017, he enjoyed the Banarasi paan at Nadesar. “It is very delicious,” Khan had said.
Kishan Kumar, who owns a paan kiosk in Naria area near Banaras Hindu University (BHU), is known to prepare such a tasty Banarasi paan that it dissolves soon after being put in the mouth.
But he too said several bundles of betel leaves, bought a day before the janata curfew, rotted because his shop couldn’t be opened since March 22 and the bookings for marriage parties too were cancelled.
Other paan shop owners had similar tales of their plight.
In Varanasi alone, there are approximately more than 500 paan shops. Of these, around 50 are famous and known for their unique paans.
On an average, any popular paan shop usually sells more than 2,000 paans daily, said a paan shop owner on condition of anonymity.
Vivek Pathak, a professor in the faculty of law at BHU, often visits Kishan Kumar’s kiosk at Naria on his way home from work. “The taste of paan prepared by Kishan is unique. I am fond of it,” Pathak said.
Sadhusaran Singh, another paan lover, said: “I wish this pandemic comes to an end quickly so that the lockdown is lifted and I can enjoy Banarasi paan.”
