That day Manju failed to turn up for the household chores. The burden of sweeping the floor in our house and washing the utensils fell upon my wife. I could be of little help to the lady as I was getting ready to dash to my office a little early. With no news about the maid even the next day, we had to be up well before the Chanticleer could crow.
Manju, however, arrived after her usual time of 8am, giving us hope of relief. “Why didn’t you come for work yesterday?” my wife questioned the lithe, teen-aged girl. She held out her left arm pronate, in response.
Heck! The back of her palm appeared like a muffin with a black speck at the centre. Pointing at the swell, she replied, “Amma, I was sleeping on the floor near the back door in our house the day before and observed this dome-like shape on my hand in the morning only,” in a plaintive voice. A close look at the bulge on her hand struck me to be the effect of a sting by centipede or any other aculeate insect. Assuring her of a quick and complete relief, I left.
I stretched out my legs on my routine walk that evening. The thicket I used to go past every day drew my attention. The sight of datura plant nestling among bushes reminded me of its medicinal values in curing swellings caused by insect bites. Picking my way through the clump of thorny plants and mistletoes I drew near the datura plant, plucked off a handful of its leaves, wrapped them in a polythene envelope — I have been habituated to keeping one or two always in the left pocket of my pant before stepping out for a walk — and resumed.
After returning home I apprised my other half of the recipe my mother used to follow in preparing a pulp out of datura leaves by adding a few drops of water and grinding them with a wee bit of dry ginger on a grinding stone. My wife promptly made the stuff.The maidservant turned up for work even the next day unmindful of the aching swell. “Manju, smear this paste over the bulge on your hand and let it remain dry till the next morning,” instructed my wife offering her the ramekin containing the lukewarm medicine. For the second straight day the chores coupled with the unfailing kitchen labour my wife had to hack, so I shared the burden taking half a day’s leave. Declaring cheerfully that she got full relief from the ache and the swelling, Manju entered the next morning, turning her left hand up and down, an unwonted glee on her countenance.
In clumps of shrubs we pass by on roadsides while walking, are hidden plants rich in medicinal qualities we are ignorant of; pass not by them unheeding as they can outmatch the curative effects of capsules we pop in or unguents we smear to get relief.
