En 1878, Alexander Kinloch Forbes, administrateur colonial britannique, décrivait, dans Rās Mālā. Hindu Annals of Western India, with Particular Reference to Gujarat, une cérémonie d’opium appelée la « coupe rouge » (red cup), lors de laquelle les chefs rajput partageaient avec leurs invités et les membres du clan une boisson en signe d’hospitalité, de réconciliation, d’amitié et d’alliance :
« In times of peace and ease the Rajput leads an indolent and monotonous life […]. At this hour the chief gets up again, washes his hands and face, and prepares for the great business of the day, the distribution of the red cup, kusumba or opium. He calls together his friends into the public hall, or perhaps retires with them to a garden-house. Opium is produced, which is pounded in a brass vessel and mixed with water ; it is then strained into a dish with a spout, from which it is poured into the chief’s hand. One after the other the guests now come up, each protesting that kusumba is wholly re...