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History of Paan

Paan has been an important part in social life and customs for hundreds of years in India. In the courts of the Moghul kings and other medieval rulers, paan was chewed as a palate cleanser and a breath freshener; and was offered as part of hospitality, friendship and love.

It is said that paan was invented by the scholars of Ayurveda with the help of Dhanvantari thousands of years ago. Reference of paan is also found in Shrimad Bhagavatam as Lord Krishna used to chew it.

It is said that the tradition of eating paan was popularised by Queen Noorjehan, Empress of the Mughal Dynasty. In the olden days, women used natural ingredients for makeup and cosmetics. Queen Noorjehan discovered that by adding some ingredients to the paan and eating it gives a beautiful natural red colour to the lips. So apart from its taste, the paan was eaten by women for reddening the lips.

According to Sushrata, the patriarch of ancient Indian medicine, paan keeps the mouth clean and strengthens the voice, tongue and teeth and guards against diseases. It is also said to aid in digestion and purify blood.

Paan eating was taken to its zenith of cultural refinement in the pre-partition era in North India, mainly Lucknow, where paan eating became an elaborate cultural custom, and was seen as a ritual of the utmost sophistication.