These three opium smokers in Calcutta’s Chinatown don’t seem to mind the fact that their surroundings are a bit filthy (if the discoloration of the walls with what looks like mold or fungus is anything to go by). The photo was taken by American GIs in 1945, and here’s what they had to say about the experience: “A little snooping in Chinatown will turn up the little opium dens stuck down an alley (not recommended without police escort). Actually, the smokers shown in this picture do it legally. Each den is licensed for so many pipes. Each pipe costs a rupee, a phial of opium five rupees. The average smoker consumes a phial a day and there are about 186 pipes licensed in Calcutta.”http://4.thumbs.beta.scribol.com/6/sites/default/files/images/5kolkatajpg.jpg?a=d?a=b

Andrew Levesley