Sale of paan up in Dhenkanal town

DHENKANAL: Yudhistira Das’ shop in tehsil padia area of Dhenkanal town is abuzz with activity even as thousands of people wait patiently for having their favourite paan without which Raja celebrations are considered incomplete.

Sale of paan in the district has increased in the past couple of days. Prices can be as high as `1,000 and as low as Rs 25. A pan worth `1,000 comprises seven exotic ingredients including kasturi from Nepal, spices from Benares and betel nut from Assam. “The fragrance of the paan sold during Raja lingers on for hours”, said Sarat Samal, a resident. He added that besides sweets and rice cakes, paan is an important part of the Raja celebration.

Yudhistira has been selling paan for 18 years and started selling the delicacy during Raja around 10 years back. He says a particular variety of the betel worth `35 is in great demand during the festival. This year, Das has sold Raja paan worth ` 4 lakh in the last two days. He says his most sought after paan has a mix of 34 varieties of spices. Yudhistira’s mind-boggling returns requires 18 years of hard work.The festival also means great profits for betel leaf sellers whose daily business zooms to `3 lakh during this time of the year.