CHENNAI: In the eyes of urban dwellers, Chennai city is a concrete jungle dotted with tall buildings, railway tracks, hotels and speeding traffic. But what attracted the attention of Rajamanikam, a traditional medicine practitioner from an interior village of southern districts, is the flora and fauna of Chennai.“The medicinal plants we search for hours together in the hills of Western Ghats in Madurai are very much present in the streets and Cooum riverbeds of Chennai,” said 48-year-old M Rajamanikam of Sankaralingapuram village.A short walk with him on the streets of Chennai will help one identify the various medicine plants and their medical values. Standing amid the traffic in Egmore area, Rajamanikam points his finger towards a plant. “This plant is Nayuruvi (Achyranthes aspera), the best medicine for piles,” he said with excitement on his face.A half-an-hour trek with him in the city throws light on various herbal plants, including Omavalli (Coleus aromaticus), a medicine for cold and fever, Sappathikalli (Euphorbia nivulia), a medicine for food poisoning, Thiruneerhru Pachilai (Ocimumbasilicum), a medicine for mouth disease and facial refreshment, and Naval (Syzygium cumini), a medicine for diabetes.“I wonder why people are spending in thousands on their health, when herbal plants are available in the city,” says Rajamanikam. People only have to know the medical ingredient of these plants and they can cure diseases on their own, he adds.The topography of Chennai is not something new to someone like Rajamanikam, who hails from a family that has been practising traditional medicine for generations now. His father, Muthusamy, has worked as a head constable with the Chennai police for 32 years and has given free herbal treatment to local residents.“Based on advice from my father, I used to go around the city on a cycle collecting herbs. In the 1980s, the green cover in the city was lush and diverse with every house having a garden,” recalls Rajamanikam.After his father’s retirement, he moved to his native village. However, Rajamanikam’s quest to learn about herbal medicine did not stop. He trekked to the valley of Western Ghats and gradually became an expert in veterinary science and human medicine through herbal medicines.Though he had studied only up to Class 10, Rajamanikam had updated his knowledge by completing a diploma course in herbal physiotherapy in Periyar Maniammai University.“I have also trained more than 11,000 women SHG members on treating cattle and human beings through herbal medicine across the State. I have also trained Tamilians living in Malaysia in herbal medicines,” he says. Rajamanikam’s aim is to take this kind of medicine to everyone. “Our forefathers have kept the knowledge of herbal medicine a secret and it was usually under the patronage of kings and families of high caste,” he claims.“For the past 20 years, I have been making pamphlets and small booklets and distributing them to all local people on how to practice herbal medicine on their own,” he concluded.For details, you can call him at 9943265061.
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