Karnataka - Mysore   

A cure in their backyard

Staff Correspondent

ACQUAINTING THEMSELVES WITH PLANTS: Participants being shown around the Forest Department's nursery in Mysore on Sunday. — Photo: M.A. Sriram

MYSORE: Over 60 people from different walks of life were introduced to the medicinal properties of many plants, which can be easily grown in kitchen gardens, during a two-day weekend camp in Mysore.

The camp not only inspired an interest in gardening but also enlightened the participants about the medicinal properties in over 100 varieties of plants that can be used to cure many ailments.

Organised jointly by the Forest Department and Sanjivini Trust, an organisation comprising Ayurveda and alternative medicine professionals from Mysore, the two-day camp began with theory classes at Aranya Bhavan in the city, where the participants sat through sessions on the therapeutic value of home-grown plants.

Subject experts taught the participants how the extracts from the plants can cure a variety of eye, nose and throat ailments, besides considerably mitigating the pain from other diseases. After the sessions of Saturday, the participants were taken to the Forest Department's nursery on Hunsur Road on Sunday. A demonstration on extraction of plant parts and preparation of medicine from them was conducted for the benefit of the participants.

"The participants belonged to different walks of life. Apart from housewives and retired professionals, we even had industrialists attending the camp," Arun of Sanjivini Trust told The Hindu .

"We enlightened the participants about the medicinal properties in a variety of plants and encouraged them to grow them in their gardens," he added.

"Aloe vera" and Tulasi were among the over 100 varieties of medicinal plants with which the participants became familiar during the two-day camp. If aloe vera, which is described as a wonder drug, is renowned the world over for its remarkable use in curing skin ailments, Tulasi is the household name of the plant that promises cure for fever, cough, skin ailments and toothache. Pomegranate was another plant recommended by the organisers for its utility in increasing the haemoglobin content in blood and preventing heart ailments.

Vasantha of Sanjivini Trust cited the case of "vitex negundo," a plant that helps cure nervous disorders and heals wounds. "Lavancha," another plant, not only acts as a coolant but also purifies blood.

Dr. Vasantha said the objective behind organising the camp was to popularise home remedies and encourage conservation of medicinal plants. "Only if they know the medicinal properties in the plants will people grow them in their gardens. We are even providing the saplings of the medicinal plants at Rs. 2 each," she said.

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