In most parts of South India, traditional food is still served on a banana leaf on festive occasions. The banana leaf is many times bigger than any metal or porcelain plate and hence a dozen or more dishes can be served on it simultaneously. One has to sit cross-legged in front of the leaf. Vegetables are served on the top half of the leaf. Rice is served on the lower half.
Then, sambar is poured in the crater formed in a mound of rice. The palm is used to squeeze the rice and sambar together. In the olden days, cups were made with cut and folded banana leaves. But the modern generation lacks the expertise to make banana leaf cups. Holding rasam or payasam on the leaf and scooping them with the palm of the hand and drinking without a slurping noise requires experience.
After finishing a meal, one has to fold the upper half of the banana leaf towards the lower half to indicate that one is contented with the food served. In modern days, people fold the banana leaf to hide the amount of food wasted on the leaf, though wasting food is considered a sin. If you clean up the leaf without leaving a grain of rice, it would indicate that you relished the meal served by the host. Slurping and licking the fingers in a festive meal would indicate that you loved the dishes served.
In some southern districts of Tamil Nadu, after a wedding feast, guests leave back cash in an envelope below the banana leaf. The women folks of the host collect the leftover banana leaves in one basket and the currency notes left below the leaves in another basket.
In a small town in south Tamil Nadu, I had a meal on a banana leaf in a hotel. At the end of the meal, I got up and washed my hand in the wash-basin. The waiter followed me and politely asked me to remove the banana leaf and put it in drums kept for the purpose. To fold a leaf with leftover liquids and solids on it and carry it to the bin without spilling anything was a Herculean task.
In the olden days, my grandfather used to buy a dozen large banana leaves in the weekly village shandy. The leaves were cleaned, cut to size and rolled up in a jute sack which prevented the leaves from drying up. The leaves remained green and fresh for a week until the next shandy. Though imitation banana leaves made of plastic have arrived in the market, they are no match for the natural banana leaves which impart a signature flavour to the food served on them and the best part is, they are biodegradable.