My recent discovery of the wonderful properties of nature’s bounty has all but changed my life. No more shampoos for me — instead I sit and whip eggs and lemon juice which is then applied to the scalp and later rinsed out. Toothpaste tubes? Well, I have thrown all of them away. Instead I grind cloves on the ‘sil’. The mixture is then used to rub and scrub the gums to great effect.As for my daily “soap opera”, well I’m done with those white and pink and blue cakes that do no lasting good. Instead tomatoes are cut open and their juice mixed with turmeric paste which is then used to cleanse the skin. Papayas work, too, but they are a slightly more expensive proposition.Recently, when I was ill with a bout of viral fever, I ignored all the well-meaning suggestions of popping vitamin pills by the bottle. Instead I opted for garlic pods, which when taken with an infusion of methi seeds can really work wonders. Together they can take care of any health concern that may crop up.Of course, garlic pods are frowned upon socially. The other day, there I was munching on them when a friend demanded to be given the snack I seemed to be relishing. “Pass whatever you are munching,” was his instruction. Seeing the garlic pods in my hand, however, he did a double-take. “I cannot understand how you can chew on them as if they were toffee, or something!” he exclaimed.When I set about talking about the virtues of the pod, he gave me a disgusted glance and predicted, “If you are so passionate about garlic, you’ll never find a lover!”Somehow that doesn’t bother me so much as the prospect of ill-health. But I am constantly coming across people who just cannot understand my passion for natural cures and antidotes. Recently, when I chipped a tooth, my dentist had to rush to deal with the emergency.After he set things right, I was transported into another room to recuperate. I found myself next to a woman who was awaiting the extraction of her wisdom tooth. She seemed to be in an exceptionally chatty mood and observed with a touch of sympathy, “Poor you. Now you won’t be able to bite anything non-vegetarian for a while. Thank God, I’m not you! I would have found it impossible!”“But I’m a basically a vegetarian, so it’s no problem,” I said.She just could not understand how I could be one and kept clucking away about how deprived vegetarians really were.I listened to her in silence wondering when she and others like her will finally come around to understanding and appreciating that treasure-chest called nature.
