Monday, October 18, 2010

A stitch In Time Saves Nine



There has been a sudden spurt of Dengue across many parts in India and i thought it better to share some useful information because i benefitted greatly from this timely help imparted to me by my friends and relatives.
Since there are no antiviral drugs to combat dengue and the body is allowed to recover on it's own, it is not always that everyone is blessed with a strong immune system. Thus when the blood platelets level drop continuously and fall below the 10.000 count,  the doctors at best can help by giving transfusion.

Thanks to my friend who called up at the hospital and apprised me with a timely antidote. She informed me about the Papaya leaf doing wonders for recovery. i just followed her advice as i did not have the time nor the inclination to do research on the healing properties of Papaya leaf. i knew it to be an important fruit having great properties whether eaten raw or as a ripe fruit. That sufficed.
So when i was at ease i searched the net and thanked my friend even more sincerely for sharing something that was spot on time, easy to procure and just too helpful when i was suffering with anxiety as i was told by the doctors that there are no antiviral drugs for dengue and that we just watch and wait for the body to recover on it's own.

My research on the various sites on the net confirmed that Papaya leaf juice does wonders not only on the speedy recovery when one is afflicted with Dengue but also other fevers like Chikanguniya. What proved to be an eye opener was a site that talked about scientists in the United States confirming the report that a compound found in Papaya tree was more powerful than the latest anti cancer drug.
There were many sites that talked about the curative powers of the Papaya leaf juice.
All except one which had doubts about the medicinal value of Papaya leaf juice in being an effective medication for dengue patients. Because according to the author by the time the patient starts taking the papaya leaf juice his/her body is already recovering as per the symptoms of the disease which has it's own cycle.
Nevertheless this is what i think.
i know of all parts of Papaya being beneficial and having healing properties. Right from the seeds to the leaves to the fruit, all parts have medicinal value. The enzyme in Papaya called Papain is found to be very effective in curing chronic indigestion and constipation.
i would like to share http://hubpages.com/hub/Cure-dengue  which explains and makes my job easier in trying to convey.

Another helpful and timely advice that i recieved from my brother-in-law was about this herb called Giloy or Guduchi. We might have seen it around us only thing that we are ignorant about it as we are ignorant about the so many herbs that exist and about their miraculous curative properties.
It is a creeper which looks more like a vine,  grows commonly and also has cluster of tiny berries which turn red when ripe. To see how it looks like i have images from the net which helped me identify this herb.






Now the extract from from this herb Giloy (Tinospora cardifolia) has been found to help by increasing the blood platelet count which drops to less than 10,000 in some cases for patients of Dengue. The fundamental here being that Giloy helps in boosting the body immune system. However many who have a strong immune system the situation of platelet counts dropping to a very critical level may not occur as the platelets start multiplying due to the body's own disease fighting mechanism. For the less fortunate the herb should help. That is if the person is free from allergies of any kind be it from Papaya or even others.  
It may be difficult to go looking for this herb when someone in the family is down with this fever and needs constant attention. For the patient may become too weak to do normal things by himself/herself. Due to a temporary drop in the blood pressure level the person suffering from dengue finds normal tasks difficult. For example even for going to the toilet which is quite often because of all the hydrating fluids that are given constantly. Therefore it becomes imperative to be around to help and support the patient as and when it is required.
In such situations Ayurveda comes to the rescue by providing us with herbal drugs that help.
i suppose these drugs could be obtained from any ayurvedic store as now i am aware of drugs being manufactured by most ayurvedic medicine makers to combat not only dengue but even swine flu . Since i was informed about Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Chikitsalaya it was not that difficult for me to obtain these herbal drugs.  In Chennai itself i know of two such Chikitsalayas and one being very much familiar to me,  i contacted them.
It was heartening to know that  Patanjali Ckitisalaya of Baba Ramdev has come out with tablets made out of this herb and on consultation can be obtained from there along with the information about the correct amount of dosage to be registered. The tablet is called GILOY GHANVATI.


 Not only this there is yet another concoction made out of this herb and many other herbs that help the patient recover well from dengue and even swine flu. This herbal concoction known as Divya Giloy Kwath or Divya Giloy Sat is also the product of intensive research and can be obtained from Patanjali Ckitisalaya.


The wonder herb Giloy/Guduchi/Amrita which helps boost the body immune system can be grown in pots at home and i found a blog post by another blogger very enlightening as it educated me with why the herb is also known as AMRITA .
" it is useful in curing many many diseases....ranging from diabetes, arthritis, gout, high blood pressure, urinary infections , asthma, infection caused fevers and is also beneficial for detoxification, for skin infections and to promote general immunity..."

True it is,  what is said about happenings. Good or bad, one can choose either to be despondent or be receptive enough to grasp sound advice. Every situation whether favourable or unfavourable has in it's scope not only the experience of battling with the unfavourable situations but also gives us the opportunity to educate ourselves and shatter myths. A tryst with Dengue drew me towards close encounters of a newer kind. THE HERBAL KIND
Firstly about the Herbs that we don't even notice and worst may dismiss as weeds. They are there and yet there is so much that we are not familiar with apart from the fact that they provide the green cover and help us with oxygen. For lack of both interest and knowledge they remain as somethings to be yanked out and removed what to talk of preserving and nurturing them.
 Then about the fruit trees having an antidote for our diseases if only we knew that sometimes even the leaves have more powers than the fruit itself in certain dire conditions.

 Even now i feel that deep sense of gratitude for the information shared by my friend and my brother in law. But for them i would have just waited for my husband's immune system to fight back watching him helplessly as he grew weaker and weaker to even sit by himself. i would have had anxious moments like the relatives of another patient who was being registered blood transfusion for the second time as his platelet count had fallen below the 8,000 mark.
Instead i became busy first in procuring the leaf of papaya and then crushing and squeezing it to obtain that one tablespoon of the green elixir. i became busy coaxing him to have liquids like fruit juice, tender coconut water, buttermilk and milk at timely intervals to hydrate him. He had lost his appetite for food almost completely. i could have worried myself to sickness watching him eat just a couple of spoons of khichadi or unwillingly bite into half of an idly instead i got hopeful
Registering Giloy Ghanvati  twice a day as advised by Patanjali Chikitsalaya and further boiling the herbal Kwath in 4 cups of water till the water got reduced to just one cup. Straining the decoction then which resembled a darker version of green tea and coaxing my husband to gulp down the bitter medicine in one go. Of course keeping slices of orange in my hand to push it into his mouth to get rid of the aftertaste. i was fortunate enough as the markets in Chennai were flooded not with the local Nagpur oranges that are seasonal but with juicy Australian oranges. Just two needed for a glassful of pure orange juice. And just a slice to combat the sorry aftertaste of a bitter drink.
No i am not trying to give kudos to myself or trying to project my role as a dutiful wife, rather trying to convey that i was able to do what i did because i knew what to do thanks to my friend and family.
 Also thanks to Dengue that i have become more respectful of all the greens on the ground that i come across. For some that we may feel to be a weed may just be another herb. A herb that can provide relief and succor when there is nothing available to do so. In fact now i understand better what someone had said about weeds. i remember the Forest Officer now,  my sister's husband who has this intense dislike for calling anything that we know not as a WEED.
For he knew all this and more only that i understand his feelings more and respect his annoyance too. He knew enough to get irritated at such dismissals without knowledge. i understand his irritation now... for to a certain extent i know it too...that what we label as unwanted and worthless may not be so...
But a weed is simply a plant that wants to grow where people want something else.  In blaming nature, people mistake the culprit.  Weeds are people's idea, not nature's.  ~Author Unknown
and
What is a weed?  I have heard it said that there are sixty definitions.  For me, a weed is a plant out of place.  ~Donald Culross Peattie
and
What is a weed?  A plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, Fortune of the Republic, 1878


Image courtesy: http://www.google.co.in/images?q=giloy+herb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=OZa8TJe3MoagvgPOsZnxDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CCgQsAQwAQ&biw=1024&bih=653

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Mera Wala Red

This post was edited in Sept 13, 2014 after being pointed out of an error in the identification of a beautiful shrub which has been rectified and given it's correct name on this date today. The error was seen by Mr Rajiv Pathania who has rightly identified the beautiful tree/ shrub and hence Red Poinsettia it is and not red Mussaenda as was given by me earlier. i regret my folly and am deeply indebted to Mr Pathania for bringing it to my notice.

Any visit to a Tibetian Monastry is an altogether a different experience. My first one was at Hubli when my friend who was posted there had taken me to a monastry which was a few kilometres away from the town and it was called the Mundgod Monastry.
Both of us were eager to see the grand Thangkas, exquisite murals and frescoes, impressive statues and many more Buddhist relics and last but not the least the sight of kid monks who look so cute in their maroon robes.
And we did have our fill of all that as we roamed around with admiration and a very rare sense of calm that prevailed in us. Monastries do that to you...make you peaceful from within. i can equate it to the same sense of tranquility that i feel when i sit at the banks of a river or a lake.
Yes i was amazed at all the artwork right from the structure of the pagoda style temple with tiered towers and multiple eaves to the paintings and the well manicured lawns but it was very enriching to feel the peace. This does not happen everywhere and so i said that it is rare.
Since the pictures i took would not justify what i am trying to convey i once again fall back on a valuable resource to show a glimpse of what i mean. i feel Mr Siddeshwar has done a wonderful job on his blog so here it is http://karnatakatravel.blogspot.com/2009/08/drepung-loseling-monastery-mundgod.html

So naturally when i was doing my homework for Coorg the first spot on my must see list was the Namdroling Monastry. Also known as The Golden Temple. All that you would want to know about this really Golden temple can be indulged into at Ms Nirupama's blog at http://www.itslife.in/2009/04/namdroling-monastery.

"The Namdroling Monastery in Byalukuppe echoed with soulful acoustics, visual brilliance and a simple way of life... all of which instilled in me a sense of heart warming peace. I definitely am going back for another visit ", so says Mr Kishore Murthy at  http://www.flickr.com/photos/kishore/426177294/
His words actually echoed mine but there was something here that just made me see the brilliance of colours in the true sense. i actually spent a lot of time here along with my husband to indulge into even the landscapes. Soaking in the peace and very much at ease i just chanced upon something that simply took my breath away. It was a rare sight once again and just so beautiful that it still lingers in my mind's eye. It was hard for me to pull myself away and i just lingered there and thought about the creator once again.
 RED Mussaenda i had thought of them at first. Oh my God !! hardly get to see much of them. What we generally find in gardens everywhere is the white or the pink/peach but this was  glorious. i had thought of them to be so and forgotten about this post of mine even when i had identified the same plant correctly and later did a long post dedicating a whole post to this Red Poinsettia...this Flor de nochebuena  known as Euphorbia pulcherrima http://shivanidiwani64.blogspot.com/2013/04/flor-de-nochebuena.html. Had it not been for the kind perusal of the gentleman who took time out to stop by at my post and point out the error in my page asking me in his kind and gracious way to correct the error. Thank You Mr Rajiv Pathania. 

WHAT IS RED?

Red is a sunset
Blazy and bright.
Read is a feeling brave
With all your might
Red is a sunburn
Spot on your nose, sometimes red
Is a red, red, rose.
Red squiggles out
When you cut your hand.
Red is a brick and a rubber band.
Read is a hotness
You get inside
When you’re embarrassed
And want to hide.
Firecracker, fire engine
Fire-flicker red---
And when you/re angry
Red runs through your head.
Read is an Indian,
A Valentine heart,
The trimming on
A circus cart.
Red is a lipstick,
Red is a shout,
Red is a signal
That says: ”Watch out!”
Red is a great big
Rubber ball.
Red is the giant-est
Color of all.
Red is a show-off
No doubt about it----
i just wanted to add more to this poem i knew from this book by Mary O'Neill 

Hailstones and Halibut Bones


i did not know what i wanted to do more. Whether i wanted to keep muttering OMG! OMG! or wanted to be a composer of some sort who could add yet another verse to it something like...

Red is the colour of this Mussaenda Tree 

That took my breath away 

And made my heart dance with glee.

SO while my husband took digs on me for the design on my travelling bag matching the tree i just remained unaffected to all his pranks while he took a picture of me (stealthily) as i was lost in my thoughts about the marvellous creation. Also thinking about the diligence of the monks who apart from their strict disciplined routine found time and the inclination to nurture the shrub to such perfection that it resembled a mini tree with the gorgeous RED. 

As if this was not enough there was yet another place where i got stuck and this when i glanced upon the campus walls of the Monastry. Covered with brilliance yet again with what i thought was Orange Honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliosa) .  Initially i got annoyed at looking at this picture because i feel i have spoilt the beauty of that picture by my barrel like presence there and it would have been more appropriate if just the wall flowers with their contrasting colours of orange and green leaves were only captured by the camera but once again can't afford the annoyance anymore. For when i see myself against that the entire wall covered with this cheerful orange i forget that nagging thoughts of losing some weight and just feel so jolly. Oh ! and i remember the blossoms were agog with tiny black insects and thank God i was fascinated and dazed but not too carried away in my curiosity to try to smell them lest those tiny insects were inhaled . i thought of the Hummingbirds and tried to picturise the tiny beauties suspended next to this brilliance adding more colours to this amazing sight.

Once again it was OMG OMG  and rhymes like...

Orange is a carrot
And the orange i eat
Orange are the bright new socks
That i wear upon my feet
       and
Orange is an orange.
Orange is a carrot.
Orange is the colour
of the beak of a parrot.
       and
The pumpkins in my garden are orange, orange, orange,
O-R-A-N-G-E.
The oranges on my tree are orange, orange, orange,
O-R-A-N-G-E. 

It was racing inside me all these i knew and now i was wanting to add 
Orange is the colour of the Flaming vine
Makes me hungry and wanting to dine

 and after looking at my picture next to it something like

Orange is the colour of this Flaming Trumpet
Next to it i look like a fat muppet


Now what i thought to be the Honeysuckle was identified correctly by my blogdost, a naturalist and now whom i consider as a dear friend Karthik of  http://www.wildwanderer.com/journal/ as Flaming vine or the Flaming trumpet (Pyrostegia venusta). Another way of getting acquainted with people who are passionate about nature and it's marvels is through blogs i say. Or else i would still be searching for a dost, a friend who could help me identify a plant or a tree by it's correct name. So the wall creeper in the picture is the Flaming vine/ Flaming trumpet and not honeysuckle.
Red can be frightful
even delightful
but always surprisingly red.
There's glows
bows
wine and
roses
hawks
buttons
chili
noses
red sky mornings
red sky nights
Chinese red
and port side lights
red hot mama
little red hen
ruby red slippers to get home in
cherries
garnets
kidney beans
Mars
demons
two red queens.
Add some to yellow, heart o' mine,
orange is what you'll get every time.

Orange at least is a veritable feast
ever so edibly orange.
There's orange marmalade
and mangoes
pumpkin pies
tomatoes
papaya
paprika
nectarines
mandarins and
tangerines
carrots and
those little kumquats
cantaloupes
and apricots
turmeric
cheddar cheese
all of this
and pekoe tea.
But the beauty of orange is only skin deep
when you bite into a yellow peach.
© 1999 Karen Schirmer all rights reserved

Awed at nature at it's best and still wondering about all things bright and beautiful the ride to the home-stay kept me glued in my thoughts on the colours. How i chanced upon Mera Wala Red and that STIMULATING Orange.
Colours are associated with feelings, tastes, sounds and smells to which i feel like adding that that they are also associated with thoughts. Thoughts of experience.
It is said that Red is a healing colour and burns out disease whereas Orange is an emotional stimulant. And i remembered how both are so closely related because red says, "...add a little yellow to this heart of mine and orange is what you'll get everytime."
Both these colours are supposed to be aggressive colours getting you hyper and noisy but strangely when i saw them in this form i was feeling not only energised but also calm enough to remain silent with a warm smile lingering on me. Perhaps it was the smile of satisfaction and thoughtfulness. Can't say whether it was the beauty of the colours or the flowers themselves that made me think about God or was it the precincts of the monastry which in a way trickles the enormous sense of marvel and you wonder at the Master Craftsman.
i wished then i knew this song fully because i wanted to sing all the way, ''yeh kaun chitrakaar hai yeh kaun chitrakarr..." (who is this painter?... who is this painter??).



Of course my husband clicked many pictures from his cyber shot which i would love to share of this Golden Temple.







As humans we may say that Red stands for: Passion, excitement, vitality, action, confidence, satisfaction, courage, desire and also for danger and the fire within. Whereas Orange symbolises good cheer, excitement, energy, creativity, fascination and warmth. ALSO it is said that when one is lonely, sad , depressed or even just simply bored Orange is an emotional stimulant. And now science has taught us how colours are formed.
But i guess still i am wondering about the Magician who got the first primary colours and then interspersed it around the subjects in such a way so as to create harmony. Harmony of the sort that does not make our eyes jump and start but to follow a very synchronised smooth movement.

Just one more tip to help get sorted out because i tried this on myself and it really works. Actually it saves a lot of time when you are still in a fix deciding what to wear.
Not until late i discovered it myself that i would be happy to share it.

Monday is for Yellow
Tuesday for pink
Wednesday is for Green
Thursday for Orange or Yellow
Friday for blue
Saturday for Purple or Black
Sunday for Red 
i guess then,  that's it for the time being and so until my next blog let us all enjoy the healing and stimulating power of colours...and just one confession though that after the stimulating orange i also felt very hungry so my thoughts were later divided between the creator and the created and so went munching Lays as i tried to recall the words of that song...yeh kaun Chitrakaar hai...yeh kaun Chitrakaar...

Sincere Thanks to Karthik who quietly and modestly helped me correct my error in identifying the spectacular flowering vine yet once again.
For not long ago i learnt the names of the the Copper pod tree Haldi Gulmohur (Peltophorum pterocarpum) thanks to his blog on flowering trees
This and many many more that i get to know every now and then. My gratitude to this naturalist who fuels in me the desire to know more (of what i wouldn't bother to otherwise)  not only through his blogs but by his timely assistance every time i have a query relating to nature.


and for more images on Flaming vine click on 
and about it on