Beetle Nut

New Delhi, 11-01-1994. If it is your first trip to India you might be shocked when you hear a local behind you loudly clearing his throat and spitting the contents on the already saliva stained pavement. When you have been in this madhouse country a bit longer you are supposed to know that the favourite pasttime of the Indians is chewing beetle juice and tabocco leaves, this forces them to clear their throats frequently and hence all the spitting. Most of India s roads are covered in a mosaic of colored saliva. Many if not all of the local population has red colored teeth and gums.