BooM Shankar

Welcome to the BooM! Records cyberchillum page.

Step inside, take your shoes off and get your head blown off with a quick chillum. For those of you who dont know the ritual joys of sharing a chillum, there is a detailed (tongue in cheek) description below!

Big tokes are Blissful!

The ritualistic rolling of joints pales in comparison to the blending, loading, smoking and cleaning of the chillum. A typical chillumhit goes something like this:

The chillum is produced out of one of many pockets of some well worn psychedelic garment and formally unwrapped. The mix is then prepared, preferably in a piece of a coconut shell or other bowl. The mix consists of some dry cigarette (between a half and a whole one) and some hash.In hot countries like India the cigarettes are usually already dry and crumbly, if you are using fresh cigaretes it is usual to heat the cig with a lighter to dry it out, then powder it into your hand or the mix bowl.

To this you add the hashish - between 0.5 and 1.5 grams, seasoned to personal taste and hash availability. It is traditional to smoke hand made black hash such as charas (from India), but other hash is also nice - Nepal, Himalaya etc. The hash and tobacco is then rubbed and flaked together between the fingertips to produce a fine mix, which is transferred to the bowl of the chillum. The safi, a small piece of dampened cloth, is then put over the mouthpiece of the chillum.This acts as a filter whilst smoking, and traps tar and wayward chunks .

After the traditional cries of Bom Shankar, one person clasps the chillum to his forehead in tribute to Shiva and someone lights the chillum for him.If you made the mix, chillum etiquette is to give the chillum to someone else to light. The chillum is held in a variety of ways, often with both hands, but the most important thing is that your lips do not come into contact with the damp and tar covered safi. After a couple of short puffs to stoke the chillum up, one good deep lungful is inhaled. Bom Shankar !!! You should keep this smoke deep in your lungs for as long as is possible to enjoy its maximium effect. The burning mix reaches staggering temperature (equivalent to the melting point of most metals !) which intensifies the buzz.

The chillum is then passed immediately anti clockwise around the circle until the mix dies. Technically the last person to smoke the chillum should clean it, but if it is a very special chillum, the owner might prefer to do it himself. I have had several chillums broken by friends being over enthusiastic in getting the stone out by tapping it on the floor somewhere at a party !

Cleaning involves passing a strip of cloth or string down the chillum and then, held between 2 people, the chillum is run up and down to clean it thoroughly. The chillum stone is then cleaned and re inserted, and the chillum can be wrapped up again safely - unless there is another mix ready of course!

You can now sit back, smile and meditate as the second wave of the hit knocks you over like a steam roller.

Well, we hope you all just enjoyed the virtual cyber chillum. Maybe we will have another mix ready next time you visit our pages.

Thank you for flying BooM! Records.

This is a selection of wooden chillums - clay are better !

The conical chillum stone sits about a few centimetres down in the chillum.

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	Big tokes are Blissful!
	The ritualistic rolling of joints pales in comparison to the blending, loading, smoking and cleaning of the chillum. A typical chillumhit goes something like this: The chillum is produced out of one of many pockets of some well worn psychedelic garment and formally unwrapped. The mix is then prepared, preferably in a piece of a coconut shell or other bowl. The mix consists of some dry cigarette (between a half and a whole one) and some hash.In hot countries like India the cigarettes are usually already dry and crumbly, if you are using fresh cigaretes it is usual to heat the cig with a lighter to dry it out, then powder it into your hand or the mix bowl. To this you add the hashish - between 0.5 and 1.5 grams, seasoned to personal taste and hash availability. It is traditional to smoke hand made black hash such as charas (from India), but other hash is also nice - Nepal, Himalaya etc. The hash and tobacco is then rubbed and flaked together between the fingertips to produce a fine mix, which is transferred to the bowl of the chillum. The safi, a small piece of dampened cloth, is then put over the mouthpiece of the chillum.This acts as a filter whilst smoking, and traps tar and wayward chunks . After the traditional cries of Bom Shankar, one person clasps the chillum to his forehead in tribute to Shiva and someone lights the chillum for him.If you made the mix, chillum etiquette is to give the chillum to someone else to light. The chillum is held in a variety of ways, often with both hands, but the most important thing is that your lips do not come into contact with the damp and tar covered safi. After a couple of short puffs to stoke the chillum up, one good deep lungful is inhaled. Bom Shankar !!! You should keep this smoke deep in your lungs for as long as is possible to enjoy its maximium effect. The burning mix reaches staggering temperature (equivalent to the melting point of most metals !) which intensifies the buzz. The chillum is then passed immediately anti clockwise around the circle until the mix dies. Technically the last person to smoke the chillum should clean it, but if it is a very special chillum, the owner might prefer to do it himself. I have had several chillums broken by friends being over enthusiastic in getting the stone out by tapping it on the floor somewhere at a party ! Cleaning involves passing a strip of cloth or string down the chillum and then, held between 2 people, the chillum is run up and down to clean it thoroughly. The chillum stone is then cleaned and re inserted, and the chillum can be wrapped up again safely - unless there is another mix ready of course! You can now sit back, smile and meditate as the second wave of the hit knocks you over like a steam roller.