An alternative medicine called Ayurveda can cure many ailments

My association with Ayurveda goes back to the time when I was suffering from a disease of blocked nose. It struck me during the Kumbhmela of 1991 and made my life miserable. The doctors prescribed nasal drops and I would get relief as long as the effects of the drop remained. As a result, I had to carry the bottle of drops with me even to work.
Nashik is the venue of Kumbhmela which is held once every 12-years. I came to Nashik in 1967 and that was the first Kumbhmela I witnessed. In those days, the population of Nashik was small and I used to stay in Deolali. Our bus would not enter the limits of Nashik City but still, in order to ensure protection against epidemics and diseases, we had to get ourselves inoculated.
The next time was in 1979 and I did not feel the urge to go to Nashik to participate in the celebrations but in 1991, I decided to go – I was influenced by a couple of my friends who were keen to go to Trimbakeshwar, nearly 50-Km away, which is where all the action was. Moreover, the women were united and I had to fall in line. Therefore, we left early in the morning by bus to Nashik city and from there by a second bus to Trimbakeshwar.

We had left at 8am and when we finally got down from the bus at Trimbakeshwar, it was nearly 1pm and it was raining. There was a long queue of devotees and the line stretched from the bus stop to the specially erected bathing ghat where devotees were to take a dip in the holy waters of the River Godavari. The line was nearly 2-Km long and the umbrella could not keep away the rains – as a result, all of us got drenched and, with the water accumulated on the roads, it was a terrible experience.
When I woke up next morning, I knew that I was in trouble. The nose block had become severe and, that is when I got this beautiful advice from the wife of one of my close friends. She suggested that I begin garlic medication. Take a couple of cloves of garlic, she said, and chew them raw. Let the juice gradually seep into the body system. The pungentness would be unbearable in the beginning but, once you make it a habit and get used to it, it would be worth the trouble.
Garlic helps to maintain the consistency of blood and also to control cholesterol apart from arresting joint pains, and rheumatism apart from cough and cold.
I followed her advice and got immense relief and have continued with my two cloves of garlic every morning. It falls in the category of Ayurvedic medicine. I take it with a couple of salted biscuits and wash it down with tea. I have been doing so for the past 24-years and am loving it. (to be continued …)
(Image wikimediacommons.org)

Hospital keeps following me – it gets me for third time in three months

I, like any other normal person, hated hospitals. The strong smell of disinfectants, the nurses going about with grim expression on their faces, the doctors who do not know how to laugh - all of these have negative effect on every one.
I was no exception but, as it turned out, I had to get admitted in the hospital for treatment of disease connected to the heart. Yes, it was hereditary and, hence, the doctors did not want to take any chance. And, to add to my bucket of woes, my GM wanted to ensure that I remained fit and effective. It was a selfish motive but, it did have its plus points because the doctors took special care for me.
However, after being in the hospital twice, I felt that my diagnosis was complete and I started on a regular dose of medicines that were meant to ensure a trouble free life. But, God willed otherwise.

It was a party in a hotel – the occasion was to meet the family of a prospective bride for my son. The contact had been through letters and they hailed from Raipur. And, the head of the family was known to one of my local friends.
All of us met in a hotel in Nashik City and, agreed to let the youngsters go out and try to discover each other’s likes and dislikes. They came back after half an hour or so and there followed a session of some hot and spicy snacks peppered with discussions in a light vein. We exchanged smiles and parted company.
But, by the time we returned home, I was once again in discomfort. And, it ended with yet another visit to the hospital and an entry into the ICU – it was the third time in less than three months. (to be continued …)
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Making friends and influencing probasi Bengalis

The response we received for our magazine was fairly good - complimentary copy of each issue would be sent by post to new addresses and, new members would keep joining up. But, subscriptions alone cannot meet the financial needs. Hence, our struggle to get regular ads and tap new sources for fresh ads was an ongoing process. And, once we met the requirement for next issue, we would focus our attention to other related subjects.
Like – moving out to local places to make friends with probasi Bengalis. Our mission would be to sell our books, make members for Naba Nalanda and try to identify sources for ads.
That is how we made a trip to Ahmednagar. The journey was tough. We took a night bus and had to remain standing whole night. We reached Ahmednagar early morning and stayed there in a hotel for one day. It was another industrial city and had a reasonable sprinkling of Bengalis.
Later, during the Durga Pujas, we went to Pune. This city was large and had a large population of Bengalis. A number of Durga pujas were held but they were scattered in different corners. We had heard of the Congress Bhavan Durga Puja – it was supposed to be biggest one in Pune and Bengalis flocked to it.

Apart from Bangalore, Ahmednagar and Pune, we had arranged for reps of Naba Nalanda in Bhilai and Raipur. And, all these activities ate into the available time. My domestic life became practically nonexistent and my wife and son had to do most of the shopping and outdoor activities.
My professional life also suffered. I was not able to devote any extra time to my job and my bosses did not like that. I would go for duty at 7am, complete my shift at 3.30pm, take the 3.45pm shift bus to Nashik City to carry out data entry work and return home by the 10pm bus from the city. By the time I reached home, it would be 11pm and I would be famished. (to be continued ...)

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Playing duplicate bridge in Nashik at the state level

Obtaining sponsorship of HAL meant we got two days off to participate and free transport to and from the venue which was in Nashik City.
Once we arrived and got our names registered, we met the players who had come from different corners of Maharashtra. They played bridge regularly and belonged to various clubs. Some of them had played in international tournaments while others played for national teams and were champions within the country.

There were men and women in their 70s and 80s alongside young men and women who were the junior levels of renowned teams of Mumbai and Pune. A couple of the old-timers had remarkable memory and, that was important for bridge players – they had to remember the bids, and proceed with the game based on what they had learned from the bidding.
They had to, also, keep count of how many cards of each suit had been played and which cards still remained. In short, contract bridge was in their blood and they did a lot of study and research on the subject.
The event was an annual one in order to select the best from the state who would represent at the national level and, from there, go to the international level. It was just like any other game and, in the open room, there would be fans hovering around them. Since many of them attended the event every year, they were acquainted with the local authorities as well as the local press.
Our team of HAL appeared to be in an unknown territory – and, in the initial stages of the games, we had the opportunity to sit at the same table and play with well-known names of the Indian bridge world.
However, as the games progressed, there was an automatic filtration because, the teams with high IMPs moved towards the elite end of the open room while the teams with low IMPs remained at the other extreme. (to be continued …)

A few more must reads -

Nashik Kumbhmela 2015 – a once in 12-years pilgrimage

Trip to Nashik should take in Shirdi and the Ajanta and Ellora caves

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the epic Ramayana

Nashik, a tourist center with links to the Mahabharata

Kumbhmela 2015 in Nashik – guided tours to wineries and vineyards

Nashik transforms from a place of pilgrimage to an industrial hub


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