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| | Oh lost our medicinal plants! | | | “Uncle.”
“Yes dear.”
“Heard about this workshop on our medicinal plants?”
“Dear, this was a unique workshop. Its presiding officer: a college principal. Its guest of honour: Muhammad Ashraf Zargar, a leading farmer. Its chief guest: Ramneek Manhas, an unemployed emerging ‘agri-preneur’.”
“Trio, Uncle, great!”
“Sure! Why take them lightly? Such people in fact have to be pulled in, initiated, and encouraged – ultimately, they matter. Know it that this year we had six winners of Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Chen Shu-chu was one of them: she had given over 7 million Taiwanese dollars to several charities for children: congrats to her! And know this also that Chen Shu-chu is a Taiwanese vegetable vendor.”
“Uncle, you think we ever will prove equal to them? Anyway, – more about the workshop please?”
“This – ‘Cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’ – actually was a 1-day workshop cum awareness camp. Organised by Indian Institute of Integrative Medicines (IIIM) and KVK Doda (SKUAST-J), it was held on 27 July at Government PG College, Bhaderwah.”
“Uncle good! And what did come up?”
“Speaker after speaker – Dr Sanjay Khajuria (SKUAST- J), Dr Suresh Chandra (Chief Scientist, IIIM, Jammu), Dr M S Verma (Scientist, IIIM, Jammu), Dr Balbir Singh (consultant IIIM), Dr Munish Sharma, Dr Vikas Gupta – spoke on the various aspects…yes, their unanimous emphasis was on our State’s singularly great contribution possible to the medical field as also to our own, particularly rural, prosperity.”
“Uncle…are they all right, comments please?”
“Sure! Kashmir Valley with its several adjoining State areas is not just the Paradise on Earth and the Valley of Flowers but also is the finest homeland of very many medicinal plants of the finest quality. Go to Kalhana (12th c. AD): he speaks about the collection and preservation of many plants, and their products, for medicinal purposes. To Hiuen Tsang (visited Kashmir c. AD 631): ‘Kashmir yields saffron.…and medicinal plants.’ To Dridhabala & Charaka: the Agnivesa Sambita records our many plants as in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. To Sir Walter Lawrence: his monumental book has one whole chapter on our medicinal plants. And then to Col Sir R N Chopra, pioneer of State Drug Research Laboratory established AD 1942: ‘Nearly three-fourths of the drugs used in the pharmacopoeias of the world grow in a state of nature in Jammu and Kashmir and as many as 42 essential oil-bearing plants are grown in the state. The standard of their quality, judged by the content of their principals, is excellent and compares favourably with such drugs grown elsewhere.’ And lastly to that distinguished journalist O N Koul: Quite long ago, Kashmir Today carried his one article where Koul Sahib had emphatically recommended that our State should forget growing just rice etc. and instead take to other crops, best medicinal plants; he pleaded, rightly, that this would multiply our agricultural income manifold just only a portion of which would get us the rice we need.”
“Uncle, but who will give heed to these calls? We are proud we are bata jinn (rice monsters)! Asi gachhi asun bodd bata toor barith (We but must have a big bowl filled with cooked rice)! And as our heroes and heroines sharing 4-person feast rice platters say Phatun gachhi, hatun na (Burst your belly may, quit you shouldn’t)! Good Uncle, leave away these conferences and seminars and workshops!”
“Live long dear!” |
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