ghatkopar and mulund besides the promise of a majority of bengalis gujaratis and north indiansthe chief market favouring paan post dinnerthe pin codes also throw up a bounty of paanloving celebrities such as kiran kumar it is their seasonal demand during festivals and marriages that has led to innovations such as modakshaped chocolate paans some clients even take the varieties that last up to 6 days to functions abroad says makad who has catered to the gamut from the compulsive paanlover who drops in 20 times a day to the rare housewife who asks the waiter to place the paan on their palm as opposed to the mouthwhile these owners attribute the footfalls to increased purchasing power the menu cards of yamus panchayatwhich sells chocolate paan at rs 50 in its connaught place centre in delhi and at rs 30 in its lokhandwala and borivli centresshow that mumbais paan lovers are yet to achieve the generosity of their delhi counterparts delhi wants quality and is willing to pay for it but mum bai is priceconscious says haribhai doesnt that sound like a full name to you director of prince group of industries which manages the retail chainthough the exact point of origin of the roughly 5000oddyearold practice of chewing paan is uncertain boutique owners extol its many medicinal uses traditionally paan was used during festivals and special occasions as a digestive says jitendra mohite who has studied ayurveda and hotel management and who runs ghatkopars airconditioned sagar moti ayurvedic family paan shop which sells 100 varieties of paan customized not only for conditions such as stress but also the weather but the tradition has been diminished as much by the infusion of tobacco and contra band as by misconception people assume kids cant have paan but if the ingredients are right they absolutely can says dudhawade who has fed chocolate paans to fiveyearoldssince the sales of paan tend to dip during the monsoon boutiques stock lucrative sideshows such as a range of the popular hookah flavours in fact paanwallas usp includes a signature masala thums upits cuminheavy masala is made by an elderly lady in goregaonwhile shahi sells a branded prepackaged chocolate paan chiefly for its foreignbound customers the response has energised owners such as makad who is in the process of opening 15 more paan boutiques in the city and dudhawade who is contemplating seating however the weight of 18 per cent gst threatens to play spoilsport haribhai who believes paan to be natures gift to the human body finds the tax unfair on behalf of the nations roughly onecroreodd paanwallas on whom he has written a bookpaanwallas contribute to the economy in a major way and given paans medicinal and spiritual uses and foreignbound aspirations it should be taxfree he sayslocal paanwallas quickly realise that these parlours arent competition not only is the client profile different but we dont sell imported cigarettes or unauthorised stuff says makad who has seen owners of land cruisers buy paan from the