Pān: Exploring the World of Betel Leaf Concoctions
Pān is a betel leaf, and it is also the name of an aromatic mukhwaas or mouth-freshener. Its pronunciation is similar to that of the Spanish word pan, which means bread. Its intricate combination of tastes and textures provides an unforgettable experience. In many parts of Asia, it has deep cultural and social importance. In India, it has been a part of customary practices for millennia and it is often consumed as a post-meal delight since it is considered to aid in digestion. In A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, K. T. Achaya states that betel leaf originated in Southeast Asia. Its widespread adoption in social settings to foster camaraderie by sharing or offering it to visitors, kith and kin, as part of social etiquette are well documented in Indian historical accounts. The references to pān appear in ancient Indian treatises too. In the acclaimed Kamasutra, Vatsyayana counsels couples to enhance their pleasure of making love by eating betel leaves, applying fragrant sandalwood ointment, enjoying the moonlight, and engaging in similar activities post sexual union and that pān can also be presented as a form of gift to one's beloved.
European records too provide interesting information on pān. The Coromandal Coast of India was visited by the Venetian merchant and adventurer Marco Polo in 1292, and he observed that the locals enjoyed chewing pān. Niccolao Manucci, a Venetian explorer who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries says that offering a pān was seen as an act of politeness and the custom was mainly popular among the elite class who offered it to their guests as ‘a mark of goodwill, and of the estimation in which they hold the person who is visiting them.’ And it was considered very rude to decline the offering.
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Manucci also adds that pān was especially very popular among the women of medieval India. Jahanara, the favourite daughter of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628-1658) was very fond of chewing pān and offering to others. Therefore, just to take care of the expenditure incurred on chewing pān, her royal father each year would remit to her the entire revenue of Surat which was one of the major Mughal cities!
Johan Albrech von Mandelso, a German traveller to India discusses the common usage of pān in medieval India among both locals and Europeans staying here. Portuguese women in Goa were specifically mentioned in this context, since they were "perpetually employed about this exercise, chewing this drug as cows and such other cattle chew the cud." He acknowledges that using this luxury on a regular basis causes teeth to become discolored and red, but he also says that this is one of the things that makes Indian women so beautiful. However, he also highlights that its use was not just particularly famous among women but also it was fashionable among the elites. He notices the nobility carrying these digestives in lac or silver boxes with them, and they consumed them while strolling the streets or even when they had important business to attend to.
In fact, pān was so endearing to the Indian populace in the past that Amir Khusrau, a renowned Sufi poet from the Delhi Sultanate era who was also known as "Tuti-e-Hind" (the Parrot of India) or "the Father of Urdu literature," lists pān as one of the characteristics that make India unique from other nations. He cites several arguments in favour of India over Rum, Iraq, Khurasan, and Qandahar. And one of them is that India is home to a variety of fruits that are grown nowhere else, and it is the only place where two unique delicacies may be found. One of them is a unique leaf that is consumed similarly to a fruit (meva). Abul Fazl, a 14th century royal court chronicler during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar in Ain-i-Akbari says that though connoisseurs regard betel leaf as an excellent fruit and Amir Khusrau in particular calls it “the finest fruit in Hindustan” but it is “properly speaking, a vegetable”.
Pān is prepared by incorporating a variety of ingredients. Manucci names some of them: areca nut, catechu (kattha) and of course, pān leaf. A betel leaf is used to encase areca, slaked lime (chuna), catechu and other additives. The end product is a compact green package that is chewed for its invigorating and energizing properties. Edward Terry, an English chaplain in his work, A Voyage to East-India enumerates the ingredients that went into the preparation of pān. He saw a pān leaf which he describes as “somewhat like an ivie leafe, but more tender” was chewed with a hard nut that resembled a nutmeg and a small amount of pure white lime and “when they have sucked out the juyce, put forth the rest”.
Peter Mundy, a 17th century British traveller, merchant and factor notes fields of pān on his journey from Agra to Patna. William Finch, an English merchant employed by the British East India Company too finds numerous betel fields at a place called Sironj. Edward Terry highlights its several usefulness. In his words, “It hath many rare qualities ; for it preserves the teeth, comforts the braine, strengthens the stomacke, and cures or prevents a tainted breath.” A fifteenth century text titled the Nimatnama too emphasizes on the benefits of chewing a tambul or pān and they are certainly numerous and amusing! As per the text, following are the benefits of chewing it:
- It strengthens intellect
- Strengthens teeth
- Prevents disorders of the tongue, lips, gullet, throat, and windpipe
- Reduces chest irritation
- Purifies blood
- Enhances the hearing
- Prevents phlegm
- Aids in digestion
- Makes hair grow stronger and longer and shine brighter
- The eyes are made bright.
- The nose is cleansed.
- Halitosis is exorcised.
- Because it is astringent in nature, it reduces bile.
- It promotes a life of beauty and chastity.
- Drives away leprosy
- Makes the skin white
- Inhibits offensive odours
- Purifies the mouth
- Heightens the ardor of passion
- Ejaculation is postponed.
- Coarse wind in the stomach is eased.
Abul Fazl describes various different types of pān leaf in Ain-i-Akbari:
- Bihari Pān Leaf: This variety of pān leaf is white and glossy and it is pleasant to one’s tongue and does not make it coarse. It has the greatest flavour of all. After it has been plucked from the creeper, with some care, after a month or even less than a month, in about twenty days, it turns white in colour.
- Kāker Pān Leaf: Similar in colour to Bihari pān leaf, Kaker pān leaf is also white, but it is easily distinguishable from the former due to its spots and stiff veins, and when chewed for long, it makes the tongue rough.
- Jaiswār Pān Leaf: After harvesting, it does not turn white but sells for a profit.
- Kapuri Pān Leaf: Its leaf is hard, yellowish, and covered in veins, yet it also has a delightful aroma and flavour.
- Kapurkānt Pān Leaf: It is yellowish green. It tastes pungent like pepper and smells like camphor. During his time, it was cultivated in Banaras but in Banaras too, it could be grown only in certain type of soil and that no one could more than ten leaves of it.
- Bangla Pān Leaf: The leaf is broad in shape, hard in texture and pungent in taste.
The Indian gastronomy of today has undergone numerous experiments and fusions, and the flavour of pān has been infused into mocktails, toffees, ice creams and traditional sweets like petha, kaju katli, kulfi and more.
There are some skilled pān makers who adopt numerous interesting techniques for creating visually appealing pān arrangements. From chocolate pān to fire pān, a variety of it are now available to its lovers.
Being an integral component of Indian culture and culinary traditions since antiquity, the pān leaf also served as an inspiration for the ancient textile industry of the country and can still be found as a recurring design on saris, dupattas, lehengas, and other traditional Indian clothing.
However, it should be duly noted that areca nut, also known as betel nut, is a psychostimulant, an addictive drug, and a carcinogen, much like tobacco. Thus, in order to prevent any health hazards, pān with areca nut and tobacco should be avoided. Naturally abundant in minerals and antioxidants such as flavonoids and phenolic compounds are pān leaves. Eating a meetha pān or sweet pān with gulkand (rose petal preserve), cherries, fennel seeds, coconut, dates, etc., or any other pān preparation devoid of tobacco or areca nut should be preferred.
Needless to say, the world of pān offers a plethora of fascinating aspects to discover, from its significance in the cultures of the past to its transformation into a cultural emblem in the present.
References:
Abul Fazl Allami. Ain-i-Akbari. Vol I. tr. H. Blochmann. Delhi: Low Price Publications. 1927.
A Pepys of Mogul India, 1653-1708, Being an Abridged Edition of the “Storia Do Mogor” of Niccolao Manucci. Tr. William Irvine. Delhi: Low Price Publication. 1913 5th edition.
Early Travels in India 1583-1619. Ed. William Foster. London: Oxford University Press. 1921.
Edward Farley Oaten. European Travellers in India During the Fifteenth, Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, the Evidence Afforded by them with Respect to Indian Social Institutions and the Nature and Influence of Indian Governments. Delhi: Low Price Publications. 1909.
Mandelslo’s Travels in Western India (A.D. 1638-9). London: Oxford University Press. 1931.
Nath, R. & ‘Gwaliori’, Faiyaz. India as Seen by Amir Khusrau (in 1318 A.D.). Jaipur: Historical Research Documentation Programme. 1981.
The Travels of Peter Mundy in Europe and Asia, 1608-1667. Ed. Temple, Richard Carnac. Vol. II. 1914.
The Kama Sutra of Vatsyayana. Tr. from Sanskrit by The Hindoo Kama Shastra Society. Benares: The Society of the Friends of India. 1883-1925.
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