Maghai Paan or Chocolate Paan, after your meal a paan definitely acts as an icing on the cake. It’s flavoursome, helps in digestion and leaves you with a refreshing breath. And if you’re a die-hard pan fanatic then let’s tell you that we have an interesting recommendation for you. Ghanta Paanwala in Borivali, Mumbai is a Guinness World Record Holder not for his paan, but for his massive collection 450 bells from 169 countries. What started as a gift from a customer has grown to become an entire empire of bells, all neatly arranged in owner, Vinod Kumar’s little paan shop. Apart from a variety of lip-smacking paan, his amazing collection of bells attracts customers from all over Mumbai.
Vinod Kumar’s Ghanta Paanwala Journey
The road to creating a Guinness World Record for having the most number of bells didn’t happen over a day. Vinod Kumar was gifted his first bell by a customer, Ashok Kumar who went to France. Ashok Kumar advised him to hang this French Bell in his shop. From then on whenever his regular customers went out of India for holidays or business meetings, they would always get him antique bells. Vinod Kumar has a bell from every country and each bell has its own speciality. He has a bell from Dubai with an engraving of the signature landmarks of the country. A Japanese golden bell also adorns his shelf. This bell is a dinner bell which is rung to call people to gather for a traditional dinner. Vinod Kumar also has a bell from Thailand which acts as a bottle opener, one from New Zealand with a symbol of a Kiwi and a ceramic one from Singapore to name a few.
Over the years his bell collection grew enormously and that’s when he met a typist, Shambu Manmohane. He was amazed to see the huge collection of exotic bells hanging from Vinod Kumar’s paan shop. When he came to know about the story of the bells, he insisted the enthusiastic owner to approach the Guinness Records. So Shambu and Vinod wrote a letter to the Guinness Records and followed it up with proof of pictures and detailed tables listing the bells, the materials they are made of and the countries they belong to. And after 3 years, Ghanta Paanwala became a proud Guinness Record Holder.
Paan At Ghanta Paanwala
Ghanta Paanwala serves a whopping 125 varieties of paan including different types of paan like Chocolate Paan, Chappan Bhog Paan, Calcutta Paan and Maghai Paan to name a few. When you’re here you can also try the unique Ice Gola Paan which has sweet ice in it. But the larger than life paan, Chappan Bhog Paan is what brings people here, as it’s prepared using 56 ingredients like dry fruits, Rasmalai, saunf, tutti-fruity, fruit jelly, chilly powder, scented supari and flavoured chutni to name a few. If you’re from Bangalore then here are 10 Best Paan Places in Bangalore For 2020
Apart from Vinod Kumar’s huge collection of exotic bells and wide varieties of delicious paan, he is also famous for his unique manner of serving paan. Every time he hands a paan, he rings a bell. This tradition of serving paan goes all the way back to 1933. His grandfather had a paan shop in Pune, and he was advised by a Kashi Brahmin to devote every paan To lord Shiva before he handed it to customers. Since then his grandfather, his father and then later Vinod Kumar continued this tradition of devoting every paan to Lord Shiva, ringing a bell and then serving it to customers. Well maybe that’s why his paan has retained a rich taste over generations. And if you’re a paan lover, we have given you so many interesting reasons to visit Ghanta Paanwala. So maybe its time you hum Khaike Paan Banaraswala and head out to try this refreshment and experience this unforgettable story. You can even Indulge In Paan Ice Cream This Summer In Pune
Deets
Address: 4, Chandavarkar Rd, Lokmanya Tilak Nagar, Maharashtra Nagar, Borivali West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400092
Timings: 8:30 am to 11 pm
Contact: 098211 09257