Source: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

The tradition of eating a well made paan after a heavy meal has been a part of our culture for centuries. Although many of the customs associated with paan have now waned, they are still served at weddings and a small crowd of people can always be found around the local paanwallah (seller). One such popular joint is in Gulshan Avenue in the form of Mohammad Shamim's Paan Shop. For thirty years, Mohammad Shamim has been running his business which has been handed down in his family for three generations.
Shamim's paan shop is everything a traditional paan shop should be-- complete with ornate jars to hold his colourful spices and leaves.  “What we do here is done with a lot of love,” says Shamim. “It's not just what we put inside the paan that makes it special, in my shop if you just have the paan leaf by itself you will like it.” What makes Shamim's shop unique is that he travels to India at least twice a month to buy his ingredients. “I am originally from Uttar Pradesh, but my forefathers moved here long ago.”
Shamim carries more ingredients than the average paan seller. “I have the Indian Magai leaf, the Indian Meetha leaf (sweet) and the Bangladeshi sachi leaf and mishti leaf from Maheshkhali,” says Shamim. “As for spices I have gulcan, rasili kimam, tabac, (the silver/golden foil like substance), we have ones made from real gold and silver, from Kolkata.”

Source: Kazi Tahsin Agaz Apurbo

Each time he goes to India, one of his sons accompanies him to learn the business. “Aside from myself, I have five other paan artists in my home- my four sons and my wife.” Shamim has several very popular paans on his menu, “The VIP paan is one of these,” he explains. “This has saffron and kosturi flavours in it. The Suleimani paan is also very popular- I put in cherry paste (from Bhutan), Pakistani gulcan as well as the Indian gulcan which is made from rose petals and is very good for the heart,” he explains. “Then I put in a honey jelly, peppermint, coconut, date paste, sauf dana, mirch masala (from Hyderabad, which itself has 16 spices blended in it), benarasi masala, taal misri, chaman bahaar, ru-afzah and lastly I put tabac.”
Shamim's shop is open from 7pm till 1am every night. During winter, he gets orders for at least two or three weddings a week. “We wear special outfits when we serve at weddings complete with turbans so we look more elegant,” he says. Shamim has a knack for what his customers like, he carries chocolates for children and cough and indigestion remedies for the adults, all free of charge. “If I make my customers happy, they come back,” he smiles.
Although Shamim never learned to read or write, he wants to educate his sons alongside teaching them the business. “I want them to run an even more successful business than I do and education is the key to that,” opines Shamim. Although he is very content with his small but profitable enterprise, Shamim says he will not mind working for the bigger companies that supply paan. “I am well respected in the business because of my skills, and if the Almighty wishes, I will do even better in the future,” he says.