MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS

PAN-BIDI SHOPS.

The habit of chewing pan is common in this district as in other districts. Pan which was chewed in the past due to its medicinal gains is chewed today more out of fashion than anything else and even women and children are found to enjoy the delicacy of it.

Pan-bidi shops have now become a common sight even in rural parts of the district. In urban areas these shops are generally located near hotels and restaurants, cinema houses, railway stations, bus stations, bazars, etc. They are also seen at all the important street corners. These shops sell prepared pans, bidis, cigarettes, match-boxes, etc. Some of them even sell articles of daily use such as agarbatti, soap, tooth paste and powder and some patent medicines like Aspro and Anacin. Shops selling loose betel-leaves, betel-nuts, tobacco, i.e., ingredients of pan besides other things, are also not rare.

Betel-leaves, betel-nuts, tobacco leaves and powder, lime, catechu, cloves, cardamom, copra, sweet fennel, etc., are the main items required for making pan. The extent of sale of these articles depends upon the size of the shop. The average expenditure of a shop on these articles comes to Rs. 10 per day in case of big shops and Rs. 3 per day in case of small ones. Generally all these shops are managed by the owners themselves, only a shop or two employing a servant.

The equipment of these shops comprises a shelf or two besides a few brass or stainless steel vessels to keep different items such as catechu, chuna (lime), etc., a big plate to keep betel-leaves and a bucket, to store water to be sprinkled on betel-leaves to keep them fresh, a pair of scissors and a nut cracker. Many a time mirrors are also fixed in a shop as also a few picture frames as items of decoration. A few shops have radio sets. The daily turnover of these shops depends upon the location as well as the quality of the material served. Generally it ranges between Rs. 6 and Rs. 15 per day. This gives the shops a net income of between Rs. 90 and Rs. 170 per month. The business is brisk during festivals, fairs, etc.

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