Out of India’s diverse groups of people, one of the most interesting are the Shiva Sadhu’s.  These homeless, jobless men relax in the city streets expecting handouts of bakshish and hashish.  They rarely speak any English, but are often friendly enough to pack a chillum and smoke you out.  The city of Varanasi seems to have the highest population of these stoned Sadhu’s, and it is always a pleasure to join their company for a short time.

 

One of my most memorable travel experiences has to be the time when two dready-hippies and I invited one of these Sadhu’s out for a boat ride on the holy Ganges river.  It took a while to reach an understanding, and even longer for him to build up the nerve to board the boat, but when we out there smoking chillum after chillum the smile on his face stretched to new widths under that thick beard.