Indulgences

1. विडा

   vida

   Vida (betel-leaf quid, paan)

   Usage

   ⚠ Marathi calls it विडा, not पान. पान is the word for the plant leaf; the quid is विडा (also तांबूल). The essential fillings are kath (catechu), chuna (slaked lime) and supari (areca nut), wrapped in a betel-vine leaf. Offered after a meal as a mouth freshener

2. सुपारी

   supaari

   Supari (areca nut)

   Usage

   Botanical name Areca catechu. Slivers are chewed after meals, and it is one of the required fillings of a vida. Even without tobacco it carries recognised oral-health risk, so it is fine to decline — "nako, dhanyavaad"

3. गुलकंद

   gulkand

   Gulkand (rose-petal preserve)

   Usage

   Both a medicine and a food, made from the petals of the native rose with sugar or rock sugar and ayurvedic herbs. It is the main filling of the tobacco-free "sweet vida" — a useful thing to point at if you want a paan without tobacco

4. तंबाखू

   tambaakhu

   Tambakhu (tobacco)

   Usage

   Note the spelling: Marathi तंबाखू, Hindi तंबाकू. Leaves are dried, crushed and worked with lime for chewing, and bidi, gutkha, snuff and masheri are products made from it. Chewed tobacco is a leading cause of oral cancer in India — when ordering a vida, be ready to say "tambakhu nako" (no tobacco)

5. गुटखा

   gutkha

   Gutkha (areca-and-tobacco mix — banned in Maharashtra)

   Usage

   ⚠ Banned in Maharashtra. The manufacture, sale and distribution of gutkha and pan masala containing tobacco or nicotine were prohibited on 20 July 2012, and the Bombay High Court upheld the ban on 15 September 2012; under the Food Safety and Regulation (Prohibition) Act 2011 such bans are renewed annually. It is extremely harmful to health. Do not buy it, and decline if offered

6. धूम्रपान

   dhumrapaan

   Dhumrapan (smoking)

   Usage

   Smoking means drawing smoke in; the means are cigarettes, chillum, bidi, pipe and hookah. Smoking in public places is prohibited by law in India; signage at stations, airports, restaurants and offices is usually in English. "Dhumrapan nishedh" is the Marathi no-smoking notice

7. मद्य

   madya

   Madya (alcoholic drink)

   Usage

   Madya is an alcoholic drink, and colloquial Marathi calls it daru. ⚠ Some districts are dry. Wardha (since 1950) and Gadchiroli (since 1992) remain under total prohibition; Chandrapur imposed it in 2015 but it was lifted in 2023

8. परवाना

   parvaana

   Parvana (permit — including the liquor permit)

   Usage

   ⚠ Maharashtra requires an individual permit to possess or consume liquor. State Excise form FL-X-C covers "possession, consumption, use and transport of foreign liquor and country liquor"; short-term permits are issued to visitors. The drinking age is 25, among the highest in India. The rule is said to be largely not enforced, but it is the law. परवाना means official permission in general

9. ताडी

   taadi

   Taadi (palm toddy)

   Usage

   Note the spelling: Marathi ताडी, Hindi ताड़ी with a nukta. Sap collected in a pot from a cut in the palm crown; it ferments once the sun rises, growing stronger through the day. Sap tapped before sunrise is nira and is a different, non-alcoholic drink. Being alcohol, it falls under the same permit rule and district prohibitions as any other liquor

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