What is Naswar and Why Pashtoon Consume Naswar too much?

 

It is said that literature is the mirror of society but in modern times, cinema has taken the place of literature and cinema has become the mirror of society. However, cinema could not be the right mirror of society because cinema makers need to maintain their financial interest and in doing so they compromise the actual image of mirror and show misinterpreted facts.

When we watch cinema of our country we can detect the mistakes in cinema when it is about our society but when we watch the cinema of another country we generally assume that they are showing the right facts about their society.

Recently, I watched a very popular series of Pakistan “Suno Chanda” which is a rom-com family drama and available on YouTube. It was recommended by YouTube, friends, and “khuda aur Muhabbat’s” comment section. I enjoyed it a lot and learned many things about Pakistan; for example- its geography, states, their languages, and culture including the introduction of “naswar”. 

Drama shows that naswar is the main business of peshawar’s pathans. And it is highly consumed by pakhto (Pashto) people. Peshawar is near to Afghanistan, therefore this area is influenced by Afghan Culture and people talk in pakhton (Pashto). The introduction of naswar in the drama forced me to research on this topic. 

 Poster of "Suno Chanda" Season 1

WHAT IS NASWAR? AND HOW IT IS CONSUMED?

Naswar is a smokeless tobacco (ST) usually containing powdered tobacco, slaked lime and indigo. Naswar is made from fresh tobacco leaves, calcium oxide and wood ash.

It is used by sniffing (nasally) or ‘dipping’ (placing a pinch under the tongue or in the cheek where it is stored).

It is made by Pouring water into a cement-lined cavity to which lime is added, followed by air-curred, sun-dried, powdered tobacco. Indigo is added as a colouring material. The ingredients are then thoroughly pounded and mixed with a heavy wooden mallet. 

A person with a packet of Naswar

 Naswar use is prevalent in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and a few Soviet Republics. (countries near to Afghanistan and Pakistan- Kazakhistan, Kirgistan, Turkmanistan and also Russia)

In Afghanistan, naswar is taken in the palm of the hand and with a short, quick jerk on the lower lip, it is placed on the floor of the mouth. It is held in this position and sucked from time to time until it becomes bland.

The floor of the mouth is the most frequent location for oral location for oral cancer in Afghanistan. Similar observations have been made in Iran and the soviet Republics where naswar is used. [1]

HISTORY OF NASWAR

It is widely used by Pakhtoon Community in K-P (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa) province of Pakistan. Due to wide consumption of naswar by Pakhtoon Community, some people consider that naswar was discovered by Pakhtoon people.

Here it is expedient to clarify that “snus” and “naswar” share the same history because both are made from tobacco plants, therefore, some people consider naswar same to snus. But snus and naswar are different types of smokeless tobacco.

Snus

The history of naswar goes back when Europeans first came into contact with the tobacco plant when Christopher Columbus reached the island of Haiti in the West Indies in October 1492. And it was introduced into Western Europe by a Spanish monk named Ramon Pane who came into contact with tobacco when he accompanied Columbus on the second journey (1493-1496) of America. He saw native priests inhale a powder into their noses through fork-like tube. 

A Sketch of Jean Nicot

In 1561, Jean Nicot, a French Ambassador in Lisbon (capitol of Portugal) and whose name was used by Linne for the Latin name given to the tobacco plant, Nicotiana Tabacum, who worked at the court of King Henry II of France, came into contact with the tobacco plant, which was grown in the backyard of Lisbon, he took some tobacco plant to Paris.

When queen of Henry II, Catherine de’ Medici was suffering from Migraine, Nicot recommended it to the queen the crushed leaves of tobacco as a remedy for Migraine. This remedy cured the headache of queen, when she became regular user, it became a fashion among the court and upper-class citizens of France, especially among females, as it was deemed more socially acceptable than other forms of tobacco.

Jean Nicot presenting tobacco leaves to Queen

  Consequently, its use became frequent in South Asia and middle Asia.

WHAT ACTIONS COUNTRIES TOOK TO CONTROL THE CONSUMPTION OF NASWAR?

According to official statistics, more than 70 percent of the people in K-P are in the habit of chewing naswar. According to the Pakistan Tobacco Board, there is a huge market for naswar in the province estimated at around Rs 6 billion annually.[2]

A huge number of Pashtuns in or outside Pakistan use naswar as addiction and those living in Gulf countries for job, carry naswar from Pakistan or sometimes, prepare it abroad.

Besides K-P, the tobacco snuff is also used by people in Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh since a huge number of Pashtuns live in other parts of the country with almost 80% of the production is traced back to Lakki Marwat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts.[3]

Naswar shops are available in all over Pakistan. 

 

A person making naswar

 

However, Pakistan took some steps to control the consumption of naswar. The Pakistan aviation authorities banned carrying of naswar, in all domestic and international flights. The act has been deemed a punishable offence by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The move came after almost all Middle East countries banned naswar by including it in the list of narcotics.[4]

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government also imposed a blanket ban on smoking and naswar in all universities and colleges of the province. Earlier this year, the sale of cigarettes and naswar to underaged consumers was banned in Mohmand tribal district.[5]

In Russia, The Russian parliament approved an amendment to the Administrative Offense Code to increase the fines for selling naswar (chewing tobacco) and snus. Under the new rules, individuals found selling either product will be fined 15,000 to 20,000 rubles (approx. $200 to $280) with higher fines stipulated for officials ($420 to $700) and companies ($1,400 to $2100). Those fines will be doubled in cases where those tobacco products are sold to children. The previous maximum fine was 5,000 rubles ($70).[6]

A person selling naswar packet

Turkmenistan also banned naswar in 2008. However, other countries don’t have strict ban on naswar.

Naswar is known as the drug of the poor. It is less expensive than other drugs like cigarettes, paan etc. Medical experts are of the view that the diseases caused by naswar are more fatal than those caused by smoking. The health department in Pakistan has been engaged in a campaign against smoking through the print and electronic media, but has failed to run a similar campaign against the use of naswar.

Pakistani don’t proud to the use of naswar as the habit in their country. And it is criticized by them especially by new generation of Pakistan. It can be seen by the fact that when famous Pakistani Cricketer Shahid Afridi, caught on camera while chewing naswar, it was condemned by people too much. 

Shahid Afridi chewing naswar and Pakistani tweets on it

 

So, I learned about naswar from the series "suno chanda". if you have also watched the series, let me know in the comments what you have learned from that series.

 

 

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[1] (Global aspects of tobacco use- Page 19) Gupta, Prakash C.; Hamner, James E.; Murti, P. R. (1992

[2] https://tribune.com.pk/story/80477/naswar-more-injurious-to-health-than-smoking

[3] https://tribune.com.pk/story/2003116/caa-places-ban-carrying-naswar-flights (8-28-2021)

[4] https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/pak-bans-carrying-of-naswar-on-flights-119070101054_1.html (8-28-2021)

[5] https://tribune.com.pk/story/1846581/naswar-smoking-banned-k-p-educational-institutions

[6] http://www.rapsinews.com/legislation_news/20200721/306061359.html

 

F.R.I.E.N.D.S Central Perk and the Story of Cafe Culture around the world

 

“Coffee should be black as hell, strong as death, and sweet as love."

                                                   -   An old Turkish Proverb

 

“Central Perk 7” is the iconic café from the famous sitcom “F.R.I.E.N.D.S”. This café is second setting in FRIENDS after their home. Even the show opens its first scene in that café, and throughout the entire series that is the favorite place to hangout for FRIENDS’ Characters. 

Central Perk from FRIENDS

                                          

Other Netflix web-series also shown café culture prominently (Granny’s diner in “Once upon a time”, Mystic Grill in Vampire Diaries etc.) and infact that was the influence of these series which popularized café culture among urban professional Indians.

Mystic Grill form Vampire Diaries

   

Granny's Diner from Once Upon a Time

            

This Café culture is different from restaurant culture. People don’t go in Café for hurry lunch or dinner, they choose to go café for a lazy time. People come and sip coffee while reading newspapers, magazines, or books and café also organize performance of artists, which also attract many people. People also choose to go in café for their professional work or to work on any research, thesis or to discuss on topics. We also know the term “discussion over a cup of coffee”.

In these Cafés, People hang out for relaxation, leisure, romance, negotiations, fixing marriage and divorce, businesses, real estate deals, interviews, counseling, studies, projects, and what not. And often alone with laptop, tablets, books, study notes, and newspapers - all over a cup of excellent coffee.

The book The Great Good Place: Cafés, Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Bars, Hair Salons and Other Hangouts at the Heart of a Community (1999) by Ray Oldenburg categorized Cafés and Coffee Shops as the “third Place”, a place between Home (first place) and Work (second Place) where people spend their time as a community.

This “third place” provide “a generic designation for a great variety of public places that host the regular, voluntary, informal, and happily anticipated gatherings of individuals beyond the realms of home and work”.

BRIEF HISTORY OF CAFÉ CULTURE AROUND THE WORLD

Europeans are the highest consumers of coffee, with the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Norway and Iceland enjoying the most java per capita in the world.[1] But Coffee is not the discovery of European, Coffee was first found at Ethiopia and Café culture was also not started from Europe or America, it was began at Turkey in Ottoman Times, and form there, this culture spreaded all over the world and blended with local culture.

Starting with the Ottoman Empire, this drink has become widespread; no doubt coffeehouses have had a major role in popularizing and spreading the drink.

Coffeehouses were first opened in the Tahtakale neighborhood of Istanbul almost five centuries ago. In Ottoman times, it was in coffeehouses that the bard, the comedian, the “Karagöz” (shadow play) artist would set their stage and perform. Hence, until the middle of the 20th century, coffeehouses served as production and exhibition places for folk literature. Coffee was always the favored drink of these lively and colorful locations, and starting from the Ottoman culture of the 16th century, it continued its worldwide spread.[2]

A coffee house from Old Turkey

Coffee cultivation and trade began on the Arabian Peninsula.  By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey. Coffee Houses- Qahveh khaneh (कहवा खाने) became famous and start to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity.  Not only did the patrons drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news.  Coffee houses quickly became such an important center for the exchange of information that they were often referred to as “Schools of the Wise.”[3]

With thousands of pilgrims visiting the holy city of Mecca each year from all over the world, knowledge of this “wine of Araby” began to spread. European travelers to the Near East brought back stories of an unusual dark black beverage. By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent. Some people reacted to this new beverage with suspicion or fear, calling it the “bitter invention of Satan.” The local clergy condemned coffee when it came to Venice in 1615. The controversy was so great that Pope Clement VIII was asked to intervene. He decided to taste the beverage for himself before making a decision, and found the drink so satisfying that he gave it papal approval.[4]

A London Coffee House from 17th Century

Despite such controversy, coffee houses were quickly becoming centers of social activity and communication in the major cities of England, Austria, France, Germany and Holland.[5]

In the mid-1600's, coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British. Though coffee houses rapidly began to appear, tea continued to be the favored drink in the New World until 1773, when the colonists revolted against a heavy tax on tea imposed by King George III. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference to coffee. It became the patriotic duty to drink coffee.[6]

Boston Tea Party

CAFÉ CULTURE IN INDIA

Indians are first lovers of Tea (Chai) but Coffee is not new to the Indians and this beverage has been consumed in India from early 15^th Century. And it is making a name for itself in Indian Culture as a whole, with a steady 5% increase in Consumption each year.  

Coffee Culture is becoming popular in India due to urban youth who are choosing coffee houses as places to meet up. However, coffee houses are also not new to the Indians.

In the early 1940s, a small group of dismissed Indian Coffee Board members created the “Indian Coffee House” brand that exists today. In 1957, the "Indian Coffee House" was the first coffee shop to open in the country. It still serves loyal patrons at over 400 locations. "Cafe Coffee Day" is the Starbucks of India. With over 1500 stores across the country, this convenient café and coffee shop chain provides a place for people to meet up while simultaneously opening the coffee market to a widespread audience.^[7]

Indian Coffee House

In new era, American TV shows have a big hand in making coffee culture popular in India. Either, it is to meet with friends over a cup of tea or to do meetings with clients or business owners, Indian professionals choosing coffee houses and café culture making wider shape in India. Watching someone enter a cafe with a laptop and a bunch of files in hand and later be joined by a couple of more ‘suited’ professionals at the table, has become quite a normal visual in India. It’s the new ‘in thing’, rather a ‘new work culture’.

Books N Brew cafe in Sector 16, Chandigarh, where Indian Singer Akhil's Khaab song also shot

These individuals not just work alone in the cafe but also conduct meetings with other coworkers. Various important business deals are made in cafes, marketing and financial strategies are formed, startup ideas are born, and work life is made much simpler. 

World has been converted in Global village. So, if any culture is popularizing in western countries, Hollywood series and movies show it, People around the world watch it and it also become the culture in another countries. Café Culture is the proof of it.

 

 

 

 

 

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[1] “Coffee Countries: How a cup of joy is enjoyed around the world”  available at : https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/02/27/coffee-countries-around-the-world_n_2774882.html (visited on 8-29-2021)

[2] “The Tradition of coffee and coffee house among Turks” available at http://www.turkishculture.org/lifestyles/turkish-culture-portal/coffeehouses-204.htm?type=1  (visited on 8-29-2021)

[3] “History of Coffee” available at https://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-Coffee (visited on 8-29-2021)

[4] ibid

[5] Ibid

[6] ibid

[7] https://club.atlascoffeeclub.com/exploring-traditional-indian-coffee-culture/