Pan Leaf (Daun Sirih)

Do you know what is pan leaf or daun sirih? Pan leaf is a significant plant and closely related to Indian culture. It is believed to be brought by the Indian immigrants by the British Goverment to the Peninsular of the Malay Land or was recognised as Tanah Melayu. The name 'Pan' is an Indian word. Whether from hindi, tamil, telegu, karalla etc , they share a common name. That is my assumption. But I dont know what is the name in English. Perhaps my visitors can assist me to find the right name. That was little bit of history.

If you are in India, selling pan leaves must cost you a fortune. Majority of the people like to chew pan leaves. Similarly if you are in Bangladesh. If you walk in the village or on the small lane, you could see patches of red saliva spitted by people who like to eat pan. The taste is bitter and could cause a burning sensation in the mouth and end up with red colour. Those who are addicted to eating pan, you can detect the trace of red marking surrounding the teeth. People claimed that by eating pan would make your teeth become stronger. There is no medical proof for such claim. As for me it would make your teeth turn ugly and rusty. I never agree to it. It just a cultural behaviour and not more than that.

When I was small I try to eat pan as well. My mum wont allow me to eat. She said pan only meant for old folks. They liked to eat pan among themselves in front of the verandah and started to gossip about many topics and could end up back bitting about somebody. Hehehehe.......am I making wild accusation? Obviously not. Gossiping is becoming part of the culture of human being.

I grow pan leaves. The leaves are waxy and beautiful. I put the pot on the ground and let them climb to the wall and hopefully they would cover the entire walls. I said to my wife, if people come over and ask for the leaves, they are not free. One leaf may cost for 10¢. Dont bother if they say you are calculative or stingy. The fact is we have put our time and sweat to grow the plant and we just could not destroy its beuty for free.

One thing I would like to tell you that it is difficult to find daun sirih nowadays. They would pay for it during the wedding ceremony because it is the culture of the Malays to have a sirih junjung during the wedding solemnise. So you better grow the daun sirih now......

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