Sunday, October 21, 2012

"Home Remedies for Common Ailments" Book release in Colombo


Folk medicine is one of my favourite interests and the subject is very close to my heart. I always wanted to write them down and it took almost two and a half years to complete the same, after managing a high pressure job of heading the ICSE High School working 8 hours a day. But I am satisfied that the book has come out really well; it has been a true labour of love.
 
 
I had travelled to Srilanaka to participate in an International Poetess Conference to receive an award " Sanghmitra of the Age" This was  organised by AIPC (All India Poetess Conference) conceived and headed by Dr Prof Lari Azad


My Book was released there on 9th October 2012. The chief guest Hon. Mr Ramachandran, Director, Indian Culture Centre, Colombo released my book.

This book was later presented to Assistant High Commission of India,Hon Mr Natarajan who instantly praised the book and said it is the need of the hour and this book is useful for every home and every family
 
. Seen in the above photograph are Prof. Lari Azad, Hon Mr Natarajan and Dr Arundhati Govind Hoskeri
Dr CJ Hemantkumar and Dr Indrani Hemant Kumar were happy to write the foreword for my book

FOREWORD

  It gives us great pleasure in writing the foreword of this book on “HOME REMEDIES FOR COMMON AILMENTS”.

        Home remedies for ailments came to evolve over centuries due to the absence of modern medicine and paucity of doctors. Their effectiveness led them to be spread by word of mouth through generations.  Made of routinely used and easily available materials, these remedies offer a cure for simple ailments and at times help to tide over critical periods.  These remedies are best used before rushing to a doctor for minor ailments as they are easy to prepare and have virtually no side effects besides the occasional allergy which is in contrast with modern medicine that has its own side effects and has to be taken for a specific period. One remarkable aspect about home remedies is that they offer immediate relief with a minimal dose. This book   eloquently reveals the inherent healing properties of common ingredients used in food in our day to day lives.

        Arundhati Hoskeri has written a practical handbook for the entire family. When you look up the illness in question you will find all the relevant herbal recipes and treatments, together with instructions for their preparation and use. After reading this book you feel amazed by the tremendous amount of natural healing power our own kitchen and pantry holds. She has presented the recipes for glowing health in a very lucid and clear manner.

Nearly one hundred seventy ailments are covered in this book, which are alphabetically arranged and easy to locate. Arundhati is a multi linguist who fluently speaks in eight Indian languages other than English. She has thus listed the ingredients in six Indian languages (Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu and Tamil) other than English so that it is easy to refer for one and all.  A quick reference table showing the usefulness of common fruits and vegetables is very informative. Beauty and Skin Care section has some very interesting Beauty Masks and treatments.

Most of the ailments cover Cause, Symptom and Remedies in a very systematic way. Arundhati is a structured thinker and a passionate seeker of knowledge, who always goes beyond the books / course curriculum of whatever studies she undertakes.

She is a multifaceted personality with a keen interest and a penchant for learning newer things. Her diverse interests range from writing poignant and romantic poetry to studying Gemmology, Astrology and Naturopathy.  After publishing a collection of her poems, titled “MINDSCAPES” she has now added another feather to her hat by writing a book on home remedies.  We can expect many more such wonderful and helpful books from her.

We sincerely hope you enjoy reading this book, as much as we did.

Dr. C. J. Hemant Kumar                                             Dr. Indrani Hemant Kumar                                                       

MBBS, MS, M Ch, FIACS                                            MBBS, MD, DA,DNB

Cardio-Vascular and Thoracic Surgeon               Professor of Anaesthesiology, BYL   Nair Hospital

 Jaslok Hospital Mumbai                                         and Topiwala National Medical College, Mumbai

 

Read my preface to know more:

PREFACE:

This modern scientific age with its innovations and research in the field of medicine  has no doubt  increased human longevity, made our life comfortable and everything available at our fingertips but at the same time, too much of dependency on machines without any physical strain has also created health hazards. The so called life style diseases like Hypertension (high blood pressure), Diabetes, Heart attacks have started targeting the younger generation.

Everybody is chasing something or the other in life!  Too much stress at work place, irregular eating habits, and erratic ways of combating problems, giving in to smoking, alcohol and drugs is taking a heavy toll on health.

Having studied Natural Health Sciences,  I realised popping Allopathic pills for every minor health problem is not a must. In fact our kitchen is an excellent store house of medicine. All the consumable food ingredients have a lot of curative property which when taken, help in curing ailments without any harmful effect on the human system. I will be giving some very effective remedies which are tested and have given best results. The common ailments selected here are useful for every age group.

My request to the readers is to apply and follow these remedies judiciously, especially those who are suffering from ailments like Hypertension, Diabetes, Rheumatoid Arthritis and Heart ailment or any other such disease that has dependency on prescribed medication. You can definitely try these natural remedies that are effective and harmless, BUT DO NOT TRY TO STOP OR ALTER YOUR EXISTING MEDICATION WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR REGULAR PHYSICIAN / DOCTOR FIRST.

Having been brought up in a highly educated South Indian family, which had a multi cultural embrace has been a great influence in my life. My grand mother, my mother and my father have had a home remedy for almost every minor ailment at the tip of their tongue and they have really worked on us beautifully. So right from my child hood I have been imbibing them naturally and my interest in folk medicine became a kind of fascination. I always keep my ears and eyes open and seek information.

  Whenever we took a break to escape from the cement jungle, whether it is forests of Bandipur  or Ranthambore or Nepal or Kerala or Thailand , after everybody else would be taking afternoon naps , I used to go and talk to the gardeners, hotel chefs, old caretakers and so on and gather information about folk medicine.

When I visited Nepal, a Leech got into my shoe and I was unaware of the oozing blood till I removed my shoe. When I tried to pull it off my ankle, I could not get rid of it. Then a hotel staff member rushed to me with a fistful of salt and Turmeric and a burning candle. He first held the flame of a candle very close to the Leech and removed it and immediately pressed salt and turmeric and tied a cloth around it and the bleeding stopped.

When we were holidaying at Ranthambore, a Bengali woman, a masseur,  told me about a root called Ishermul with which she had terminated the unwanted pregnancy of her daughter.

A nasty pimple on my chin would not go away for more than a month and was very painful, my gardener  one day saw it and brought a piece of Aloe Vera leaf and asked me to apply its gel. The very next day the pimple started shrinking.

My grandmother used to prepare a concoction with cotton seeds for Stomatitis (ulcers in mouth) which cured them in 2 to 3 days.

I have such many anecdotes to tell.

I would make note of all these things and would read about the active principle / medicinal value of that ingredient. When I studied Naturopathy, it was purely out of my passion for folk medicine.

Today people are fed up with modern medicines which give them quick relief but not without side effects and so slowly they are turning towards safer Alternative Medicines. There are so many books available in the market on the same subject, but whatever books I have come across are not user friendly. Some are written in anecdotal form, some mention a lot of rare roots and herbs which may not be accessible to a common person.  I really wanted to put these useful remedies in print in such a way that they are easy to follow, easy to refer and the ingredients are easy to access mainly from our own kitchen.

I have worked on this book for two years; I really hope and wish that this book will be useful for all. I have covered 166 ailments and 33 preparations (recipes). This wealth bank of Folk Medicine is so vast that I need to keep updating it all my life. I have suggested a list of remedies for every single ailment. The readers can pick up any one as per their choice.

I hope this book will be useful to all readers, and I am eager to get your feedback and suggestions.

My E-mail ID : aru.stresscare@gmail.com        

Dr. Arundhati Govind Hoskeri

Mumbai

Those who wish to buy a copy may contact me on : : aru.stresscare@gmail.com and

Mr. Das Gajula on 09820130718

Printed and Published  in September 2012

Number of pages: 240

Cost of the book : Rs 300 /- and Postal charges as applicable

 Free delivery in Mumbai and Navimumbai, Thane

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