Raja Festival comes once in a year and spreads joy and happiness for three days straight, in every Odia household. During this 3-day fest, eating paan is almost a mandatory ritual for all and sundry. But for the last two years, celebrations have been dampened due to the pandemic. Even though the restrictions have forced people to stay indoors, betel shop owners across Odisha have found innovative ways to serve their customers.
‘Papu Paan Stall’ in Baripada run by Abinash Swain is serving a plethora of flavours to paan lovers. From delectable fire paan and laddoo paan, to chocolate, navratna and ice paan; this stall caters to all. Moreover, keeping the Covid guidelines in mind, Abinash has also arranged for online booking and home delivery of paans during the festival.
There is something for everyone as the prices range from Rs 5 to Rs 50. Abinash says that he arranges the raw materials for these paans well in advance to ensure that the supply during Raja doesn’t falter. Another betel shop owner in Bhubaneswar has also started selling paans online for Raja festival.
This paan store called ‘Banaras Paan Bhandaar’ situated in Capital city’s Shaheed Nagar area is run by Ramakant Senapati. Ramakant says that he prepares and sells his paans online, while strictly adhering to Covid-19 guidelines.