The Heritage Of The Pan

The Heritage Of The Pan, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

I hail from Lucknow where pan, betel leaf is a cultural phenomenon... my paternal grandmother Khurshed Baji could not do without pan, a part of her etiquette and upbringing..

My maternal grandmother Nazni Begum widow of Daroga Nabban Saab descendant of poet Mir Anees ate pan too..

When I got married in Lucknow in the early 70s my wife came with the pandan , a huge silver container for pan, it was a part of her mothers heirloom ..and considered shagun or good luck.

My dad ate pan but than a serious illness put him of pan and cigarettes ,,my dad never touched a drop of booze in his lifetime and was a couturier for all the top dons of Mumbai..those days there were no designers ..My father Mohomed Shakir had a clientele that included Basu Bhai Hasu Bhai Khaliq Bhai Karim Lala Rashid Bawazir Hanif Bhai Bangali and many others including Maxi..

And pan was served to the clients , it was a form of hospitality tradition.. I dd not like pan and have eaten the famous pan that was served by the Sindhi panwala at Strand Cinema ,,, the Sindhi Gurda Kalejiwala the Sindhi panipuriwala next to Sindh Provision stores and Strand Coffee House of Mohomed Reza of Sarvi.

I did go with friends to the Kothas of Mujrewalis at Bachhu ki wadi and saw the famous panwala who sold opium laced palangtod pan for Rs 10000 .. I also went to Congress House and the Mujrawalis were the first connoisseurs of pan...but personally I did not like pan at all.

Even now at Shia functions at home pan is specially made served but I dont touch it at all.

My mother used to go to the pan galli at Null Bazar to get pan for my dad , exotic names that I hardly remember.. guests relatives who came from Lucknow could not do without pan..

Nobody eats pan in my house .. and these pan I shot at Latur .there are famous panwalas at Lalbagh but the pan is used for religious purpose as goodluck omen.