The other day, we had a visitor from a village near Gandoh, in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. Over a cup of piping hot tea, we talked of life in a village in the hills, it’s pros and cons. While speaking of the difficulties of living in a far flung area, he listed, amongst other things, lack of good medical care.
Talking of his family back home, he narrated how jaundice ( peelia or kaamala in Hindi and yarqaan in Urdu ) had killed one of his grandchildren a few years back. This set me back to the sixties when my father was posted at the erstwhile city of Allahabad and contracted the disease. I think almost all the cities and towns are plastered with advertisements, inter alia, relating to alternate methods of treatment of jaundice and piles. Here, I would love to share my experience about jaundice and it’s Ayurvedic treatment for the readers of this column who may eventually benefit.
Summers of Prayagraj and Jammu may seem alike as far as the temperature charts are concerned. But, trust me, Prayagraj gives you worse discomfort. And, in the winters, Jammu takes the lead. Weather charts may show similar temperatures, but Jammu cold bites you inside out.
It was the summer of the year 1963 and, staying indoors, we were enjoying the summer school vacations in a big way, reading a variety of magazines in Hindi and English, in addition to several books. It was the era of the radio waves, newspapers and the books, television had not yet penetrated into our homes. Life in general was laid back, livable and rather comfortable. Friends in the school and the neighborhood were for real. Mutual trust was something never put to test or rest. It appears like a well lived dream sequence from a fantasy called life, as I look back to those times.
Our life, however, soon turned upside down when we noticed eyes of our father turning pale yellow. My father, a post graduate in Botany from the BHU ( Banara Hindu University ) was an admirer of Ayurved system of medicine. He still remembered by heart, for example, botanical names and benefits of fruits, vegetables, certain herbs and, above all these, the great advantage of roughage in our diet. But, he was certainly not a certified practitioner of Ayurved as such.
He put to use whatever knowledge he had about the herbs and the diet to cure his jaundice, but to no use. So he approached the practitioners of allopathic system of medicine. After a month or so, we discovered that the disease had spread further. So much was the yellow tenor of his body that the white bedsheet appeared all yellow. So, the process of changing the doctors was resorted to.
The allopathic treatment was not giving any hopes of a cure. So, on advice of the friends and the neighbours, we sought the help of some well known Hakeem Ji who was a practitioner of Unani system of medicine. I vividly recall cycling to Nakhas Kona area to visit the Hakeem Ji and fetch the concoctions he prepared himself. The name “Kalmii Shora” still vibrates in my mind as I think of those dreaded days. Even that treatment proved useless. He was becoming weaker by the day .
Interestingly, jaundice has no known specific allopathic medicines to cure it, as far as I know. All over the country, we come across many folk medicines that, people claim, cure the disease. It includes the tradition of calling the “ojha”, a healer who heals through prayers and supernatural powers. We called a well reputed “ojha” also, but he too failed to bring us a ray of hope.
His condition was worsening and we thought we were going to lose our father soon. Like the proverbial intervention from the providence, came the information that an Ayurvedic practitioner near the University of Allahabad was a great healer and he could cure jaundice for sure. As a last resort, we went to him with prayers on our lips and hope in our hearts.
Quiet, observant, radiant, the Vaidya looked very impressive. You could feel an aura around him. He was like a saint living in a small hut in the rural Prayagraj about a kilometre from the University.
“You look very worried, Sehgal sahib,” he told my father who was sitting on the floor next to him. My father said nothing and looked at him helplessly. We, my mother, my younger brother and I, were in great distress as the Vaidya held the wrist of my father and started reading his pulse.
After about five long minutes, he told my father, ” You have come to the right place and at the right time. Now, there is no need for you to be worried. You will be cured for sure. Have faith in God and in my treatment. From now onwards, every day, you are going to feel better, I assure you”. There was hope and certainty in his voice as if he honestly meant every word he uttered.
For the first time, I looked at him squarely. I could see some kind of divinity in his shining eyes and glowing face. I could feel the blood running through the white skin of his resplendent face. He evoked a sense of great assurance and hope in me. I think he was between 60 and 70 years of age
After a while, he took me to the backyard of that small hut of his. He uprooted some greens and gave these to me. ” There is a big garden near your home. Please go there tomorrow and search for such herbal greens. Bring them to me for identification tomorrow itself. Then we shall start the treatment”, said the wise man. For the first time in two months, there was hope in our midst. We returned home in peace.
Next morning, I found similar herbal greens from the Khusrau Bagh and took them to Vaidya Ji for identification. He was satisfied. ” Now, you are the doctor for your father. Every morning, please pluck these herbs freshly from the garden. Grind them after cleaning and washing. Mix the juice of the herb with a spoonful of honey and give it to your father every morning and evening”, he instructed me with clarity.
He also prescribed a kwath ( concoction ) to be prepared at home and given to the patient every morning. We followed him meticulously and, as was assured by the Vaidya Ji, every day my father felt better ! Not only that he felt better, every inch he looked better to us too. In a month’s time he was near normal. I had never seen such miraculous recovery before.
We went to the Vaidya Ji after a month. He was very glad to meet us with smiling faces. ” I am glad you have followed my instructions with great care. Now, your liver is as strong as that of a healthy child. I can assure you will never have any liver issues in the rest of your life”, said the great saviour.
Exactly that happened to my father for the next half-a-century of his life. He never suffered from any liver disorders again.
Now, let me share my knowledge about the disease and the treatment, which helped my father.
* No fat diet, no spices. We gave boiled vegetables, radish juice and sugarcane juice in good measures. Appetite in any case is far less during the disease period ; give small quantities of carbohydrates.
* Give a spoonful juice of the stem and roots of herb called Punarnava with honey twice a day. If fresh herb is not available, powder called Punarnava Mandur is commercially available.
* Give plenty of sugarcane juice tweaked with gringer to avoid gas formation. Allopaths resort to glucose powder in place of sugarcane juice.
* Complete bed rest.
* Make sure bowels are cleared each day. A kwath of soaked and boiled Munakka, Anjeer, Saunf and rose petals to be given every morning to ensure this.
Dear readers, I am not a medical practitioner. Please note that what I have stated is no medical prescription. Even if you prefer to follow the above regimen, please do so under the supervision and advise of a qualified doctor.
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