Book Review | Odisha’s narcotic cultures make for exciting reading

“I had memories, I began to talk about them, and Ravi Singh, my publisher and friend, said: ‘Why don’t you put these in a book?’” Thus, the idea of Akshaya Bahibala’s Bhang Journeys: Stories, Histories, Trips and Travels was conceived.

In the history of the world, narcotics and psychoactive elements have played a major role in shaping communities and cultures. The mythical Vedic Soma plant and Zoroastrian Haoma, among others, have been revered and believed to be pathways to new worlds, often juxtaposed with religious rituals and healing practices. Such centrality of psychoactive influences has also shaped medieval life elsewhere, such as the peyote in Mexico and the khat in Ethiopia, as well as modern global cultures. This memoir delves into this cultural phenomenon, particularly focusing on the contemporary history of Odisha.

Author and bookseller Akshaya Bahibala's Bhang Journeys is an inquiry into the culture of psychoactive use in Odisha. Through his personal experiences and time on the field, he attempts to situate the narcotic culture of Odisha within the global one. For substances like bhang, ganja, and opium have long held a place in both the public and private spheres, in the region.

The book, aptly subtitled “Stories, Histories, Trips and Travels”, is divided into five distinct sections. The segments, without hard distinctions, cover the author’s experience with said substances in his hometown of Puri and beyond; stories revolving around dealers and consumers of these substances; official reports and other documents involving the same, various exchanges with excise departments, and also the consequences and repercussions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985; and in the end, it makes a full circle back to present-day Puri.

One of the strengths of Bhang Journeys is the way it sheds light on the psychosocial aspects of narcotic use (or abuse) through personal discoveries. The author’s narrative is intimate and revealing.

However, despite its compelling subject matter and engaging narrative, Bhang Journeys does not serve as a rigorous, fact-based analysis of Odisha's narcotic culture. The episodic, memory-driven approach often leaves much room for speculation and ambiguity, resulting in a narrative filled with its fair share of “maybes”, making the book feel rather fickle. Bahibala seems to aim at a journalistic portrayal of Odisha's narcotic scene, only to lose his way amidst the personal anecdotes and repetitive cultural commentary.

Bhang Journeys still remains a one-of-a-kind treatise, offering readers a rare glimpse into a hidden side of Odisha, serving as an excellent entry point into the topic.

Ankit Rath is a DPhil candidate at the University of Oxford.

Bhang Journeys

By Akshaya Bahibala

Speaking Tiger

pp. 176; Rs 299