Few dare to mess with it.
The brave or the desperate.

Like the hostel boys who probed
Deep into the woods
Searching for bhang* leaves each day;
And the foreign tourists
Looking for a forgotten waterfall
Named after a lord long dead -

To picnic;
“Which country?” we would ask,
“No coins!” they would reply.

And early mornings
Beasts’ hunting time still
The milkman who climbed
Four kilometres up the valley
To sell milk
Nine rupees a kilo;
Or women calling out at night
For their cattle lost in the dark.

Rauvolfias** are threatening enough
To keep the rest home.

* Narcotic leaves, hemp
** Rauvolfia serpentina; Sarpagandha (Hindi); a herb that resembles the cobra in shape