8. Outings from Bijaipur - Opium tea, Udaipur, Fabric printing, Dam sunset.
Opium tea-drinking ceremony Our evening began with a visit to the fields where the poppies are grown. They are grown under a licence from the government which dictates how much land can be used, how many kgs can be grown and the price that the government will pay for it .... Farmers here are licensed to grow 0.1 ha (0.25 acre) of poppies and to maintain their licence have to produce 56kg of raw unadulterated paste for which they are currently paid 3500/-rs per kg (approximately £44). However, if they manage to grow more than the prescribed amount it will fetch 80 - 90,000/- rs (£1,000 - 1,125). There was a look out den beside the crop so that someone can keep an eye out for animals that might stray there. The poppy flowers are white and the seed heads formed were larger than I had expected. The skin of the ripening pod is scored with a nushtar or nishtar (from Persian word meaning lancet) which carries 3 or 4 blades 3mm...