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Ranchi, March 2: Come tomorrow, bhang will make its presence felt among the festive crowd with the carnivalesque mood rightly set to celebrate Holi across the state.
Since time immemorial, bhang, known sacred to gods, particularly Shiva, has added an extra flavour to the festival of colour.
Be it on the screen, with Amitabh Bachchan dancing in the Khai ke pan banaras wala sequence, to the more mundane one — thandai, where bhang, elaichi and fruits are mixed in lassi, has its effect on everyone.
“The effect of thandai may vary from one person to another, but funny and strange things must have happened to those who take even a glass of it,” said a senior patron of hemp, the plant from which the intoxicant is prepared.
“I was in Varanasi for a few days around Holi. Every evening, I took a sweet mixed with bhang. I believe the best bhang can be found there,” recalled an English teacher. Vimalanand Jha, in his 60s, said: “When younger I used to get the readymade mix for thandai with a mild touch of bhang.”
However, even a mild intake of bhang can lead to funny results as a bank officer and his friend experienced. “We went to visit a friend and were served a glass of thandai on the eve of Holi. That tasted really nice so we had a second glass. Feeling nice and relaxed we returned to our lodging where we started talking around 5 in the evening. The next thing I remember is that we woke up early next morning with mosquito bites all over and feeling hungry,” the officer said.
Admitting that in medicine there is no known antidote to pull a person out of the spell of bhang, senior physician P.N. Singh advised: “Care should be taken to maintain the fluid electrolyte balance. If needed some tranquilliser can be administered to calm him down if he is having hallucinations.”