Young Male Indian Paanwala at his Paan Stall, Una, Gujarat, India
Betel Leaf, pan (in many Indic languages, हिन्दी : पान ), or beeda (in Tamil) is a type of Indian digestive, which consists of fillings wrapped in a triangular package using leaves of the Betel pepper (Piper betle) and held together with a toothpick or a clove. Paan is chewed as a palate cleanser and a breath freshener. It is also commonly offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality and eaten at cultural events. Paan filling is generally a mixture of various spices, fruits, and sugar. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco as an ingredient to their paan fillings. Although many types of paan contain Betel nuts as a filling, many other types do not. "Paan" is sometimes mistakenly translated as "Betel nut", the seed of the tropical palm Areca catechu. Rather, supari is the term for betel nut in many Indic languages. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies betel nut as a known human carcinogen. Paan chewing is linked to high levels of oral cancer in the Indian subcontinent. Both tobacco and betel nut are themselves carcinogens but the combination of the two appears to have a synergistic or multiplicative, rather than additive, effect on cancer risk. Paan was served as must in the royal families in the past in Paan Daans. Paan is a ubiquitous sight in India, but in urban areas, chewing paan is generally considered a nuisance because some spit the paan out in public areas.
Size: 4118px × 4130px
Location: Una, Gujarat, India
Photo credit: © philipjbigg / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 21st, activity, altar, asia, asian, business, camera, century, cheerful, close, colourful, convenience, counter, employed, entrepreneur, gujarat, gujarati, happy, hawker, hindu, india, leaning, lifestyle, male, moustache, outdoors, owner, paan, paanwala, panwadis, panwaris, people, person, portrait, posed, posing, relaxing, seller, shop, shopfront, shopkeeper, shrine, smiler, smiling, standing, store, street, sunlight, trader, una, walahin
