Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v2.c30.t2.252

v2.c30.t2.252

Use of Opium.—The Bhatti is to the full as addicted as any of his brethren to the immoderate use of opium. To the amalpani, or ‘infusion,’ succeeds the pipe, and they continue inhaling mechanically the smoke long after they are insensible to all that is passing around them; nay, it is said, you may scratch or pinch them while in this condition without exciting sensation. The hukka is the dessert to the amalpani; the panacea for all the ills which can overtake a Rajput, and with which he can at any time enjoy a paradise of his own creation. To ask a Bhatti for a whiff of his pipe would be deemed a direct insult.