A beedi is a thin, Indian cigarette filled with tobacco flake and wrapped in a tendu or possibly even Bauhinia racemosa leaf tied with a string at one end. The name is derived from the Marwari word beeda—a leaf wrapped in betel nuts, herbs, and condiments.
A traditional method of tobacco use throughout South Asia and parts of the Middle East, today beedies are popular and inexpensive in India. There, beedi consumption outpaces that of conventional cigarettes although these tobacco-filled leaves deliver more nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar and carry a greater risk of oral cancers. Beedies accounted for 48% of Indian tobacco consumption in 2008. As with many other types of smoking, beedis increase the risk of certain kinds of cancers, heart disease, and lung disease.
Indian tobacco cultivation began in the late 17th century, and beedies were first created in Gujarat when tobacco workers took left-over tobacco and rolled it in leaves. Initially the leaf used was kachnar. In 1899, during the Gujarat famine, brothers Mohanlal Hargovindas Patel migrated to Jabalpur region as railway contracters. They discovered that the local tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon) leaves are ideal for wrapping the tobacco and founded the beedi rolling factories locally. The first trademark was registered by Haribhai Desai of Bombay (using kachnar leaves) 1901, and Mohanlal and Hargovindas obtained their trademark in 1902 for tendu-rolled beedi.
source - Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang [at] gmail [dot] com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.
