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Pan (betel leaf, piper betel) a tropical creeper
belonging to the pepper family of plants named Piper betle. The
Aryans called it tambula and the Arabs tambul. People chew
it to sweeten the breath and colour (crimson) the lip and tongue and also
to have some narcotic pleasure. Normally pan is chewed with shell-lime
paste (chun) and areca nut or betel
nut (supari). Many eat pan mixing it with additional
elements such as coriander-seed, cinnamon, cardamoms and manifold flavoured
dusts..
Usually the peoples of South Asia, Gulf states, Southeast Asia
and Pacific islands take pan. In Bengal pan is traditionally
chewed by all classes of people not only as a habit but also as
an item of rituals, etiquette and manners. On a formal occasion
offering pan meant signaling the time for departure. In festivals
and dinners, in pujas and punyas
pan was an indispensable item. During the aristocratic age, pan
preparation and the style of garnishing it on a plate (pandani)
was indeed a recognised folk art
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Pan plants &
leave |
Pan differs in shape of leaves, bleaching quality, softness,
pungency and aroma. The stems are semiwoody, climbing by many short adventitious
roots. Leaves are large, 15-20 cm, broadly ovate. Fruits sparingly produced,
quite immersed in the fleshy spike, which is about 5 cm long and pendulous.
Cultivation In olden times, pan was produced
in all parts of Bengal, though some districts like dinajpur,
rangpur,
Midnapur and chittagong
were particularly famous for its production. The cultivation of pan requires
special soil and great attention. Land selected for pan production is
generally high, of a stiffish soil, and in the vicinity of a stream or
tank. The pan garden is called barouj, which is usually from twelve
to twenty decimals in area. New land dug up from neighbouring field has
to be thrown up and raised the place for making the barouj ground.
Oil cakes and cow dungs are the traditional manure for a barouj. Nowadays,
chemical manure is also used along with traditional manure. The creeper
cuttings are planted after proper dressing in the months of May and June.
The plants are neatly arranged in parallel rows about two feet apart,
and the saplings are twined around upright sticks of split bamboo
and reeds. The barouj is enclosed by a wall of bamboo and reeds, about
five or six feet in height and thatched with the same material so as to
protect the plants from sun and stray cattle. The plants are regularly
watered in the hot months. The leaves of the plant become ready for plucking
after one year of planting and the production of the barouj lasts for
several years from the date of planting.
Total cultivated area under the crop in Bangladesh is about 14,175 ha and the total annual production is about 72,500 tons. The average yield per acre is 2.27 tons. There are usually three crops during the twelve months and they are locally called by the name of the respective months in which they are harvested. Pan leaf is usually plucked in Kartik, Phalgun and Ashad. The Kartik pan is considered by consumers to be the best and Ashad pan the worst. When plucking, it is a rule to leave at least sixteen leaves on the vine. Almost every district has a variety of pan to which consumers are well acquainted. In the past, the most elegant and highly prized pan was kafuri or camphor-scented pan grown in sonargaon of narayanganj district. It was exported to calcutta and Middle Eastern countries. At present, this variety is yielding fast to other more lucrative crops. The next best is the sanchi pan grown in chittagong hill tracts. The commoner varieties are called desi, bangla, bhatial, dhaldoga, ghas pan.
Social and economic aspect The production and
marketing of pan led to the rise of an occupational caste called Barui.
Barouj is a pre-Muslim institution and all Baruis were originally Hindus.
Most of them belonged to Nabasak caste. Their position was fairly
high in the caste hierarchy. Many Baruis became zamindars
and tenureholders in the nineteenth century. In the Muslim period they
were the richest people among the cultivating classes. It was possibly
because demand for pan was quite universal at that time. Most numerous
among the pan producing Baruis, according to the censuses of 1872 and
1881, lived in Burdwan, Midnapur, jessore
and dhaka.
Since 1947, great many baroujes were abandoned or sold by the original
Baruis and their estates were bought off by the entrepreneurial Muslims.
At present, pan production is predominantly in the hands of the Muslim
farmers. But the technique of production remained unchanged.
Pan production is capital intensive. But it also yields high income. Due to its pungency pan barouj is not vulnerable to attacks from vermin and insects. Therefore, income from pan barouj is very stable. The economic significance of pan in the past was such that Prince Azim-us-Shan, the subadar of Bengal (1697-1703) made it one of the royal monopolies calling it saudia
khas. robert clive, after the acquisition of the diwani in 1765, also made pan and supari a monopoly of the east india company in 1767.
At present, pan has a worldwide market. Two factors are
responsible for the expansion. First, the global dispersion of the pan
chewing South Asians and second, scientific recognition of the medicinal
value of pan. But in competition with India and other pan producing countries,
Bangladesh has a very small share of the world pan market. Acreage of
pan is decreasing fast, because, from economic point of view, other crops
now prove to be more profitable. [Sirajul Islam] |
