“In the market, merchants sold bananas, coconuts, leaf-rolled cigarettes rubber-banded in groups of ten, and sugar cane juice. We stopped in a shop that sold herbs, and the guy whipped out his hashish with a smile and declared it 'the ganga of Shiva.' We asked him why Shiva — who I knew as 'the destroyer' because he destroys ego. He said Shiva is the god of ganja because ganja is one of the five sacred plants, the source of happiness, liberation, and compassion. How could we say no? We gave him 3 rupees (35 cents) for about 5 grams.”