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Durga puja, tears and milky cannabis drinks

posted on Monday, August 25, 2008 12:07 PM

Cosmopolitan Calcutta rejoices, mourns and celebrates the festivals of its communities with a joie de vivre. Eating a surfeit of the particular fare of the feast to the point of being sick is the Bengali’s forte.

During the four-day Durga Puja fiesta the city does not go to sleep, literally. The annual return of the goddess from her eternal abode in the Himalayas in autumn is a time of family reunions. Traditionally it is the time when married daughters return with their children to the home that they grew up in. exchange of gifts, visits to as many of the thousand puja pandals as possible, eating favourites old and new are all part of Calcutta’s grandest celebration. On Bijoya, the goddess returns to Kailash after her four day sojourn and the sadness of her departure is dissipated by visiting relatives accompanied by a marathon sweet eating affair.

A glass of siddhii is always drunk on Bijoya with almond based sweets in most homes. Siddhii is an infusion of bhang (dried leaves of cannabis) in thickened milk liberally mixed with almonds and raw cane sugar. Cannabis sativa has long been used in Hindu rituals and is known throughout India as a cure for a multitude of ills. It is also one of the central sacred herbs used in Shaivite meditation and Hattha yoga practices.

Bhang was first used as an intoxicant in India around 1000 BC and soon became an integral part of Hindu culture. In the ancient text Atharvaveda, Bhang is described as a beneficial herb that "releases anxiety". Bhang preparations were sacred to Gods, particularly Shiva. One of Shiva's epithets is "Lord of Bhang" as he is said to have discovered the transcendental properties of the mixture.

In imitation of Shiva, many sadhus use Bhang to boost meditation and achieve transcendental states. Bhang or cannabis is also believed to be popular amongst Sufis as an aid to spiritual ecstasy.

The traditional harvest and preparation of bhang coincides with the celebrations of Holi in March and Baisakhi in April.
Some erotic drawings from the Mughal era of India depict a couple having sexual intercourse while smoking bhang to enhance intimacy.

Associated with Lord Shiva, bhang has now become synonymous with Holi, to the extent that consuming the bhang drink at that time is a norm. Culled from the leaves and buds of cannabis—the very intoxicating bhang helps to escalate the spirit of holi—a festival which does not recognise any restrictions. Thandai, pakoras and vadas, all having bhang as a very essential ingredient, are savoured by all on the day.

In Nepal, on the day of Hindu festival Maha Shivaratri bhang is taken in different forms such as smoke, mixed with sweets and drink. Offering bhang to lord Shiva and then taking bhang is a tradition during the festival.

The tradition of consuming bhang during Holi is particularly common in North India where Holi itself is celebrated with a gusto unseen elsewhere. But the hub of bhang is Varanasi or Banaras, the land of Shiva, where bhang is prepared on its famous ghats.

Anywhere on the ghats, one can find large number of men engaged in the process of preparing bhang. Using mortar and a pestle, the buds and leaves of cannabis are ground into a green paste. To this mixture milk, ghee, and spices are added. The bhang base is now ready to be made into a heady drink, Thandai, an alternative to alcohol. Bhang is also mixed with ghee and sugar to make a tasty green halva, and into peppery, chewy little balls called 'golees'.

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