Shivaratri was one of the first Hindu festivals I had heard about when I arrived in India. The festival is the holy day of lord Shiva and falls annually sometime between February and March depending on the Hindu lunar calendar. This year taking place on the 4th-5th March.
For Hindus and more specifically followers of Shiva, Maha Shivaratri is a time for fasting, ritual bathing and the anointing of a Shiva linga with milk, honey or water. Hindus believe that sincere worship on Maha Shivaratri can achieve moksha, breaking the cycle of birth and death.
Cannabis also plays a large role in this celebration so I was keen to find out more.
Despite cannabis being Illegal in India, this ruling does not include the leaves of the plant used to make bhang. Bhang is often made as a paste from crushing the leaves of the plant and can also be found in a powdered form or even smoked directly, the latter being the choice of many Babas that can be seen puffing away on their chillums.
After the plant has been processed it is then traditionally added to a sweet or savoury yogurt drink called lassi. Or made in to pakhoras, a type of fried snack.
The effects of bhang are similar to that of cannabis however it can be much stronger producing hallucinogenic effects and lasting well over 12 hours depending on the strength.
So why bhang on shivaratri?
Cannabis has been consumed in India in various forms for spiritual awakening for well over 3000 years. In the ancient Atharvaveda (1500BC) cannabis is described as one of the five most sacred plants on earth.
Shiva's use of bhang is also well documented for example when Shiva drank poison after the churning of the oceans and his consort Parvati provided him with bhang to take away the terrible pain in is throat. Because of this and shivas use of the plant during meditation many people consume bhang in celebration of the God during this holy festival.
This year I found myself in Rishikesh for the festival. After following some rumours of a place we could find bhang. we got a couple of rickshaws away from the whitewashed streets of Laxman Jhula and headed to Veerbhadra a short way south of Rishikesh.
The rickshaw dropped us off at the end of a quite street. Initially thinking we where in the wrong place we decided to follow the few people around us and just go with the flow. A couple of hundred metres down the road we knew we where in the right place. Small temporary stalls were set up outside people houses, much like a kids lemonade stand, but brightly adorned with coloured fabric and pictures of lord Shiva. But rather than lemonade these tables where piled high with plates of the unmistakable bhang. For 30rs about 35p you could get yourself a glass. Cheaper than a lemonade too!
After stopping to sample the bhang we started walking towards what was turning into a massive fair taking place right next to the temple. The roads where lined with the usual fair vendors, shooting gallery, ring toss all with the correct amount of indianess added. Oh, and Street side tattoo artists as well. Mixed between the regular fair staples it was hard not to notice the swath of green at every turn. Tempting you in with cheap cannabis infused goodies.
After spending some time walking around the fair and soaking up the atmosphere (and a fair amount of bhang too) I spotted a wall of death. Something I'd seen many years ago on the Simpsons but never thought I would experience it in real life. It was incredible, but the Indians didn't even clap... I guess when you are used to driving in India it takes a little more to be impressed.
We spent a few more hours enjoying the festivities before we decided it was time to head home. what had been a simple task in the morning had now become quite the adventure, but India has a way of always looking after you and very soon I was back at the hostel. 6pm, time for bed.
Despite a good 12 hours of sleep the next day's plan of kayaking had to be shelved, I was still very much feeling the effects of the day before.
For Hindus and more specifically followers of Shiva, Maha Shivaratri is a time for fasting, ritual bathing and the anointing of a Shiva linga with milk, honey or water. Hindus believe that sincere worship on Maha Shivaratri can achieve moksha, breaking the cycle of birth and death.
Cannabis also plays a large role in this celebration so I was keen to find out more.
Despite cannabis being Illegal in India, this ruling does not include the leaves of the plant used to make bhang. Bhang is often made as a paste from crushing the leaves of the plant and can also be found in a powdered form or even smoked directly, the latter being the choice of many Babas that can be seen puffing away on their chillums.
After the plant has been processed it is then traditionally added to a sweet or savoury yogurt drink called lassi. Or made in to pakhoras, a type of fried snack.
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| Sharing a lassi with a finely moustached police man |
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| Lots and lots of bhang pakhora |
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| One of many Bhang stalls |
The effects of bhang are similar to that of cannabis however it can be much stronger producing hallucinogenic effects and lasting well over 12 hours depending on the strength.
So why bhang on shivaratri?
Cannabis has been consumed in India in various forms for spiritual awakening for well over 3000 years. In the ancient Atharvaveda (1500BC) cannabis is described as one of the five most sacred plants on earth.
Shiva's use of bhang is also well documented for example when Shiva drank poison after the churning of the oceans and his consort Parvati provided him with bhang to take away the terrible pain in is throat. Because of this and shivas use of the plant during meditation many people consume bhang in celebration of the God during this holy festival.
This year I found myself in Rishikesh for the festival. After following some rumours of a place we could find bhang. we got a couple of rickshaws away from the whitewashed streets of Laxman Jhula and headed to Veerbhadra a short way south of Rishikesh.
The rickshaw dropped us off at the end of a quite street. Initially thinking we where in the wrong place we decided to follow the few people around us and just go with the flow. A couple of hundred metres down the road we knew we where in the right place. Small temporary stalls were set up outside people houses, much like a kids lemonade stand, but brightly adorned with coloured fabric and pictures of lord Shiva. But rather than lemonade these tables where piled high with plates of the unmistakable bhang. For 30rs about 35p you could get yourself a glass. Cheaper than a lemonade too!
After stopping to sample the bhang we started walking towards what was turning into a massive fair taking place right next to the temple. The roads where lined with the usual fair vendors, shooting gallery, ring toss all with the correct amount of indianess added. Oh, and Street side tattoo artists as well. Mixed between the regular fair staples it was hard not to notice the swath of green at every turn. Tempting you in with cheap cannabis infused goodies.
After spending some time walking around the fair and soaking up the atmosphere (and a fair amount of bhang too) I spotted a wall of death. Something I'd seen many years ago on the Simpsons but never thought I would experience it in real life. It was incredible, but the Indians didn't even clap... I guess when you are used to driving in India it takes a little more to be impressed.
 |
| Wall of death! |
We spent a few more hours enjoying the festivities before we decided it was time to head home. what had been a simple task in the morning had now become quite the adventure, but India has a way of always looking after you and very soon I was back at the hostel. 6pm, time for bed.
Despite a good 12 hours of sleep the next day's plan of kayaking had to be shelved, I was still very much feeling the effects of the day before.
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