VELLORE: Seventy-five-year-old Muthusamipuran of Thoothukudi, a resource person at the two-day Siddha meet feels that the time is ripe to revive Siddha medicine for the benefit of people.
A retired school teacher, Muthusamipuran hails from a family of traditional healers who have been practicing Siddha medicine for many generations. He pursued his interest in Siddha medicine seriously only after retiring from service in 1993. His father and his brothers would often prepare Siddha medicines which he would take note of while he was growing up and this latent interest bloomed after he retired.
“I was not very keen on preparing the basic medicines but wanted to focus on higher medicines such as kattu,” he said.
He learnt the art of making kattu from his uncle for a period of three years before he could try his own.
According to him, kattu binds the energy of materials used in the preparation for a long period. Even a small quantity of this can cure different diseases.
There are different types of kattu such as Vaidya kattu, Vakara kattu (for medication purposes), Gnanakattu, Yoga kattu and Kalpa kattu (for physical as well as mental health), he said. Many of the senior healers often stop with Vaidya and Vakara kattu. Muthusamipuran’s family has a vast collection of palm leaves detailing the higher order Siddha medicines. “But even if you have all the details, one cannot prepare these medicines without proper guidance and support,” he added.
Muthusamipuran with his skills and his experience from his practice has become an enlisted Siddha medical practitioner with the Siddha Medical Council. He is also the vice president of the Madurai Siddha Vaidya Sangam. He says that youngsters are becoming interested in learning the art of Siddha medicine and it is the right time for the government to revive Siddha medicine and reveal its hidden power to the people, he pointed out.
Thirumurugan, a qualified Siddha practitioner from Chennai, heading the NGO, Centre for Traditional Medicine and Research, said “We are engaged in documenting traditional healers in 10 districts of Tamil Nadu with the support of AYUSH Ministry” he said, adding, “we are also documenting various types of kattu.”