The Raja festivities in Odisha that celebrate womanhood have brought paan (betel) into focus as part of the state’s cultural identity.

No Raja is complete without paan and the three-day festival, which ended on Friday, showcased a wide range of betel with the taste of each variety being unique. The Raja paan, which almost invariably is sweet, even becomes an item of gift during the festival. People exchange betels as a goodwill gesture.

No wonder the demand for betel leaves goes up exponentially during Raja which is the second biggest festival of the state after Rath Yatra, which is going to be held on June 20 this year.

Apart from the regular ones, hundreds of make-shift paan (betel leaf) shops have come up in almost every city of the state including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. The Odisha Tourism Development Corporation is also promoting the festival by selling special paan in the Pantha Niwas.

What makes Raja paan special is its variety. There is meetha paan and then there are iced paans and fire paans. Some have fancy names like white caramel and black forest paan. “Without paan, Raja festival can not be celebrated,” said 16-year-old Aditi Mohanty.

“The price of paan ranges from Rs 30 to Rs 300 depending on its ingredients which add to the flavour,” said famous betel seller Gourahari Pradhan aka Goura Bhai whose shop is located at CRPF square in Bhubaneswar.

“I use spices which are original and ingredients such as betelnut, saffron, areca nut, clove, cardamom, gabha jeli, chicken supari, blackberry jelly, orange jelly and many more. The richer a paan with such things, the higher the price. The prices go up to Rs 500. The sale of paan has also increased as there is no fear of Covid anymore. The demand had gone down significantly during the Covid pandemic when only those habituated to chewing paan turned up at paan shops,” said Pradhan who, however, cautioned customers to buy paan only from reliable and reputed shops.

Lovers of paan have their own reasons justifying its consumption. “This is an intrinsic part of Odia culture. It is associated with the Shree Jagannath culture also. Every day, a paan is served to the lord Jagannath. Chewing paan also helps digestion,” said paan aficionado Rama Chandra Das Mohapatra.