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amusement and making jests and jokes ; as, for
example mixing the majun with sweet, or saying
that a new sweet of pleasant taste has been pre-
pared, they cause the people to take it, and after-
wards, when the person who took it gets intoxicated
and begins to talk foolishly, the friends treat him
as an object of amusement and make a fool of him.
In the North-Western Provinces and in such parts of
the Punjab as are between Delhi and Umballa, the
custom has been experienced that, on the occasions
of marriages, etc., in order to make fools of the
people of the bridegroom's party, bhang mixed with
pithi (ground dal) is put in kachauris, and, when
they eat such kachauris, they get intoxicated, but
they feel sorry on account of their carelessness and
folly. In the Punjab the bhang of Abnota (name
of a place) is generally much liked ; consequently
there is a saying : " He who drinks the bhang of
Abnota forgets his arse cloth (called ' angota ' in
the Punjabi language) ; in a handful an owl, and in
a lota quite senseless "—i.e., a handful of the bhang
makes one a fool, and a lota of it makes him quite
senseless. As the ignorant, the selfish, the useless,
and the unfit people have connected idle talks and
bad habits with religion, and state that the rise or
source of each is from some god or other, they have
done the same thing with bhang. They attach it
to Shiv, and say that it is the plant of Shivji; but
in reality the intoxicating drugs have nothing
to do with religion; and if Government stop the
use of the drug, there is nothing to fear, and no
complaint will bo raised. This stoppage will be
considered a virtuous act; and there may be drunk-
ards and drug-eaters addicted to bhang-drinking
owing to misfortune, who may murmur in the
beginning, but they must afterwards thank Govern-
ment for their having released them from the claws
of a great destroyer.
The correspondent has heard from a reliable
source that in Delhi the sellers of ' dalmounth ' and
dry ginger ' batashas ' sell articles made of bhang,
and that the public at. large buy them. The cor-
respondent himself has seen that in Lahore and
Anavkali the sherbet-wallas (beverage sellers)
publicly selling sifted bhang, mix therein sandal
beverage and keora sherbet and ice scented. Find-
ing it convenient, as one pice only will buy one
this ready-made beverage, hundreds of young men
began drinking bhang ; but the correspondent
wrote about it to the Commissioner of Excise, and
it is a matter of pleasure that a week after strict
orders were issued prohibiting the practice. The
beverage sellers used at one time to get a ' pow ' of
bhang from the contractor, and then, according as
they wanted, they sent for more by their servants,
and they used to keep it ready at their shops at
all times. It is said that in melas (fairs), the
bhang is yet sold.
The correspondent conscientiously says that
bhang is in reality a very bad thing : it spoils the
body, heart and brain of a person; it vitiates
one's moral character ; telling a thing and making
a promise, the bhang drinker forgets it, and
exaggerates things and tells lies and gets taunted
and pointed out.
The correspondent writes specially from his
personal experience, and, after stating his own
experience, will write what he has heard from two
able and educated friends. About eight years ago,
on a certain occasion, a person compelled him to
take a little sifted bhang. A little after hedrank it,
he began to feel much dryness in his lips, tongue,
throat and nose. His brain seemed to convulse,
and he began to hear imaginary rustling sounds in
his ears. At the time of walking, he felt as if he
had giddiness in the head, and his feet tottered.
Looking at himeelf in a mirror, his eyes looked
bloodshot. When people told him anything, he
did not give any answer, and soon forgot what
they said and what he heard, and repeated the
same words over and over, and could not keep
quiet. At first the correspondent wished to sit
quietly and aloof from everybody, and he sat for
a little while; in short, fanciful thoughts occurred
to him, and then he recollected some such matters
which made him inclined to weep. When he got
up, he saw a picture and burst out laughing, and
continued laughing for some time and with diffi-
culty he stopped the unavoidable laughing. At
last he sat on a 'palang' (bedstead), and directly
he lay. He fancied that some one got hold of
him and was carrying him to the sky, and after
going some distance, he let go his hold, and he fell
into an abyss ; and in this condition he became
confused and startled, and he felt a shivering in
the liver. If even a bird passed flying before the
correspondent, he fancied that it was a big wonder-
ful bird. After a little while he felt a false
appetite, and he ate much more than the usual
quantity, and still there was no satiety. At last
his mother, finding that he drank bhang, which
is a very improper action, rated him and made
him eat pickle, etc. When the correspondent
awoke on the following morning, he found his
head heavy (headache), the taste of the mouth
exceedingly bad, and he felt the saliva in his
mouth like melted soap, his taste was insipid, and
his stomach was heavy, and he had sour eructa-
tions very often. In short, the correspondent
remained unwell for two or three days, and having
been constantly under good medical treatment,
recovered his health. The correspondent well
recollects that thereafter up to the present moment
he has never made use of bhang, and since then
he dislikes all intoxicating drugs. He remembers
very well all the details, what he heard, saw, and
fancied during the time he was under the influence
of intoxication eight years ago.
Now the correspondent writes the account (state-
ment) which he has heard from his particular
friends, one of whom is pleased to say thus :—
" Once or twice a rogue made me and a friend of
mine drink bhang. After we had drunk it, I and
the friend went to see a famous poet of the modern
period at Delhi. Directly I sat near him I wished
to laugh out; I pressed my tongue with the teeth,
tried my best to control myself, but it became very
difficult to prevent laughing. At last I asked to
go. He became surprised, and he said, ' Well! Is
it al well with you? You have not been here even
two minutes, and you ask for leave. You have
come after a long time, and you have not spoken
nor heard anything; betel leaf has been sent for,
you ought to chew betel before you go.' But I
insisted upon asking for leave, and after all I stood
up and came out ill-manneredly, and I wished that
just here I might freely laugh. Having gone a
little further on, I gave up the company of the
friend also, and, standing in a lane, I looked round
to see if anyone was looking at me. I laughed
heartily, and when I felt pain in my stomach and
the sides through laughing, I put my handkerchief
on my face and with great difficulty got home and
slept."
The other gentleman is pleased to state thus :—
" Once I happened to travel in a bullock-cart on
a pilgrimage. In the evening I halted in a garden.
Near the garden at a short distance there was some
white sand. Having drunk bhang with other two
friends at the stage, I and the friends went to sec