Grandma's remedies

BABY has been bathed in warm water and looks comfortably sleepy. Grandmother takes a pinch of aromatic brown powder and rubs it on the child's scalp.

This was a practice religiously followed in homes till the allopathic revolution delegitimised and obliterated many ayurvedic and traditional practices.

The aromatic brown powder is Rasnadi churunam, a powder made from the root of Alpinia calcarata and 23 other ingredients. A pinch can be inhaled after a bath to prevent colds. The churanam takes its name from the Sanskrit name of the plant, namely Rasna. Called Chittarattai or Arattai in Tamil, the leaves and, in particular, the roots of Alpinia calcarata have medicinal properties.

A gram of the powder of Chittarattai with a little sugar was often administered in the past for colds, coughs, throat pain and for fevers associated with colds and coughs.

One can also powder five gm of Chittaratai with five gm each of dried ginger, pepper and long pepper (called Tippili in Tamil) and boil the mixture in a litre of water until the solution is reduced to 100 ml. The resultant preparation - taken 30 ml at a time, three times a day for about a week - gets rid of headaches associated with colds and coughs. It is also effective in restoring one's voice lost due to severe infections.

These grandmother's remedies are simple and effective. However they have to be started before the cold or cough becomes severe. Be on the lookout for signs of a cold, cough or fever and act instantly. All the ingredients of the simple preparations suggested here are available in local herbal medicine stores. If you are adventurous, you can grow your own Chittarattai. The plant has pretty orchid-like flowers and can be grown from tubers or from young plants. It is available in many nurseries. The leaves are aromatic and can be brewed in water to make a pleasant herbal tea.

Chittaratai is commercially grown in the Thandarai Medicinal Plant area of the Chenglepet Forest Division and young plants can be had from there. Those wanting to have the pleasure of growing their own herbs can start with Alpinia calcarata which is easy to grow, has a beautiful, showy foliage and pretty flowers.

SHEELA RANI CHUNKATH

The writer is Chairperson of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

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