A Very Short History of the Banarasi Paan

The most well-known secret to which we non-paan eaters are denied access is the fact that the Banarasi paan, iconised by Amitabh Bachchan years ago, is not from Banaras at all. Or at any rate its leaf is not, which is the main thing. The paan ka patta which brings tears to a dedicated Banarasi’s eyes is called maghai and is grown in Bihar. Alternatively, it could be called jagannathi and grow in Odisha. It could even be the desi, grown in Jaunpur. But it wouldn’t be grown in Banaras. Wherever his leaf is imported from, the Banarasi’s love for his paan means a range of things—from using it as a religious offering to consuming it some five times a day..