Leafing Through

In the last 10 years,the Tamboli community's business of selling betel leaves has dropped by almost 50 per cent

In the last 10 years,the Tamboli community’s business of selling betel leaves has dropped by almost 50 per cent

Amidst the bustling and crowded bylanes surrounding the Mahatma Phule Mandai is a street devoid of the usual cacophony. In this part of Mandai,vendors don’t call out to their customers,nor do the constant ‘to-sell’ slogans ring through. A green cover greets you as one approaches the neatly lined space of the betel leaf sellers. Seated along the corridor wall are several tiny stalls lined with baskets of betel leaves. Hanging from their respective stalls are pots of different creepers. “This is just to make this place look good,” says 50-year-old Zarak Tamboli,one of the first sellers in the row. “It’s not pan-patti,but so similar so we all have planted them.” As one walks along the wall,every little stall has several plants hanging from the stall ceiling or placed around the counter.

For generations,this space at the old market has been occupied by the leaf sellers. Zarak Tamboli spreads the green leaves one at a time. On the newspaper are several such fresh leaves in different stages of drying. Beside him are baskets filled with water and fresh betel leaves. A paan vendor approaches Zarak and collects his supply for the week. “I am the third generation in this business. As a child,I had seen my father do this. I took it up myself for it was very profitable. Paan was very popular back then,” he says. For the next 10 minutes,Zarak talks in the past tense. He describes a flourishing business. “We would sell close to 2000 leaves a day. Now we sell only about 200.” Zarak’s son is an autorickshaw driver. So is the son of Revan Tamboli,who sits in the stall next to Zarak’s. “Our children cannot raise their kids with the money we earn in this trade,” says Revan. “In fact,we are happy that they are not doing this anymore. The first blow was the gutka that reduced our business by half. There is also a culture change. Youngsters don’t like eating paan,” he adds.

Every Sunday and Wednesday,these leaves come to the Mandai from Kolhapur and Sangli. Due to the volume of the business,many vendors only buy them once a week. “That is enough sometimes,” says Ismail Abdul Tamboli. “In the last 10 years,the business has gone down by 50 per cent. ” He cites the same reasons for the decrease as Revan.

For six months in a year,these leaves are procured from places like Satara in Maharashtra. For the next six months,starting from March,these vendors source it from small villages in Andhra Pradesh. The high point for most of these vendors are festivals. “Earlier,our main buyers were the paan kiosk owners. But their count has gone down now. We look forward to a festival,for it ensures a good business,” says Ismail as he picks up a newspaper to pass away a dull day.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories