I don’t lie, I don’t lie, I don’t lie; cocaine

Recently I bumped into an old colleague of mine and the first question she asked was, “Do you do Cocaine?”

I was stunned. Well, I asked why had she asked such a question. She answered, “You have such an in-depth knowledge of cocaine that you must be a cokehead yourself.”

I grimaced and could offer just a polite “No” as my answer. But she wasn’t finished yet. “Well, all dopers say they don’t do drugs.”

I could say nothing more. All of these are occupational hazards when you cover narcotics.On hindsight I must admit that I was one of the few guys in school who occasionally tried smoking a few joints of hash. But that was all there is to it. Nothing more!

I was a momma's boy then and never went in for crazy cocktails. For starters, cocktails, in our public school lexicon, wasn’t the usual alcoholic stuff served in hotels. It used to be a concoction of Phensydyle or Corex, Coke or Pepsi, mashed Brufen tablets, Proxivon, a quarter of whisky and a tinge of Iodex balm.

Ingredients differed according to the taste of the mixers. Whatever the mix was, it was enough to calm the nerves of 10-12 students for an entire evening. The ‘pharm’ kick would sometimes last till chapel service in the mornings.

But I have never tried the Pharms even as it has begun to gain in popularity in recent times. Pharm Parties have become a rage in Delhi. On days when Cocaine peddlers are in hiding, they are the next-best-thing. You get the right kick, nobody catches you and even Delhi Traffic Police’s alcohol metres fail to detect that you are on a high as you drive.

Coming back to the tree-crowned hills of Shimla, the place is famous for its babas — a terminology used to refer to those who partake of Shivji ka Prasad or hash. Babalog are a different breed altogether. They swear by their prasad and say ‘Jai Bholenath’ to greet friends. Alcoholic drinks are a strict no-no for them. I still meet people from the babalog breed in Delhi.

They work in swanky offices, drive luxury cars, do white-collar jobs but they don’t forget to drive to Manali once in a while to fetch their Malana Cream (best hash available in this part of the world). Old habits die hard.

One of the good things, if you can term it so, is the babalogs have lived up to their reputation by staying herbal and not venturing into chemicals. Observing the Delhi drug scene, they definitely are the good boys of high society.