Around A Medicinal Creeper
K.P.Poornachandra Tejaswi
Comprehension I:
1. What did Mara do when they found the creeper?
Ans: Mara caught hold of one of the tendrils of the creeper and tied it to a nearby tree.
2. Mention the curse about the medicinal plant.
Ans: A sage had cursed the creeper that when someone needs this plant, they shall not find it.
3. What surprised the white man?
Ans: The white man was surprised that Mara's wounded hand had got cured within a couple of
hours of getting cut, just by placing the leaf of a medicinal plant on the wound and bandaging it.
4. How did the mongoose and cowcal cure themselves of a snake bite?
Ans: They immediately chewed the leaf of the medicinal plant and cured themselves of snake
bite.
5. Why had Mara lost his teeth on the right side?
Ans: While Mara was on hunting, he broke a small stick from a nearby tree to brush, he felt a
sour taste. When he rinsed his mouth and spat it out, the teeth which had been touched by the
stick tumbled out of his mouth.
6. What did Mara's wife find on opening the packet of meat?
Ans: Mara's wife found a live wild buck instead of the meat of the barking deer on opening the
packet.
7. What happened when the milk was mixed with the juice of the creeper's leaves?
Ans: When the milk was mixed with the juice of the creeper's leaves, it became firm and
rubbery.
8. When would the medicines lose their potency according to the belief of native
doctors?
Ans: The native doctors believed that if they told others about their medicines, the medicines
would lose their potency.
Comprehension II:
1. How long did it take the narrator to learn the facts about the medicinal creeper? What
does it signify?
Ans: It took almost twenty years for the narrator to learn the facts about the medicinal creeper.
First of all, it shows that not enough research work has gone into the field of herbal medicine.
The illiterate natives know that some plants are medicinal, but they don't know the exact
benefits that can be reaped from these plants. Moreover, even the native doctors who know the
value of the plants don't let out the secret because of the belief that if spoken about, the
medicines would lose their potency. There is also the question of exaggeration. People like
Mara knowingly or unknowingly add a few fictional bits to their experiences and hence, for a
third person, it's difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction. As a result, even a fact is
confused with fiction. Lastly, even people like the narrator, who have an interest in the medicinal
plants find it challenging to prove their findings.
2. What does the incident of Mara's wife throwing the leaves into fire tell us about Indians
in general?
Ans: When a live wild buck appeared in the place of the meat of the barking deer and ran away,
Mara ran after it. Mara's wife, without knowing anything about the background of the episode,
picked up the leaves and threw them into the fire. It shows that even after such an unusual
incident of the dead meat turning into a live wild buck, Mara’s wife was not interested in finding
out what could have led to the miracle. It shows the casual attitude Indians have towards the
medicinal plants that they are ready to accept anything and let things to happen, without asking
for proper justification or interrogating the cause, effects and results.
3. How was Krishna cured of his illness?
Ans: The narrator's erstwhile farmhand Krishna was suffering from piles and the only cure for it
in allopathy was surgery. Krishna, an illiterate, was terrified of surgery and hence he went to the
village godman for treatment. The godman, being old, could give only the description of the
plant which could be used for his cure. The next day, when Krishna described the plant to the
narrator, the narrator was sure that he was looking for the same creeper which Mara and
Appanna had tied to a tree. So Krishna and the narrator together were able to find the tuber.
Krishna ground this root and drank it with milk, and he was completely cured in five days.
Comprehension III:
1. Do you think the author is suggesting that Indian herbal medicine is better/safer than
allopathic medicine? Support your view.
Ans: Yes, he does. Although he expresses doubt over the incredible stories of Mara about the
efficacy of certain herbs and plants, he shows a very clear idea that Indian herbal medicine can
work wonders with illnesses which in allopathic medicine have either no cure or cure only
through surgery with all its associated problems.
Right at the beginning of the text, he states that out of the many stories about an unusual
medicinal creeper, though some are imaginary and some false, some are true also. He also
states that it took him twenty years to arrive at the facts about this creeper. Though he keeps
referring to Mara's stories as improbable, he admits that not all of them can be dismissed as
bunkum. Even after Mara's death, the author is troubled by what Mara had to say about many a
plant in the forest. His speculations get a boost when milk gets curdled and becomes rubbery
after squeezing the juice of the medicinal creeper he had seen Mara and Appanna tying to a
tree, into the milk.
Although he is still not sure of what medicinal quality the creeper might have had, he is certain
that the creeper has certain unusual qualities. The incident with Krishna, his former farmhand,
further confirms his notion. First of all, the writer tells us that Krishna was cured of his boils by
the medicine given by a Malayali Sadhu, in which the bark of some tree was crushed and mixed
with duck's eggs and eaten. Secondly, the writer cites the incident of Krishna getting cured of
his piles by drinking the ground root of a creeper, mixed with milk. Further, the author points out
that just by eating a small piece of the tuber to see how it tasted, he seemed to have helped his
heel which had been paining for quite some time. The swelling that had appeared next to the
bone of the heel also disappeared. Though the writer is not very sure whether the healing is the
result of the medicinal properties of the creeper or not, he believes that the possibility is worth
exploring. That is why he laments that India's native medicinal systems are on the verge of
extinction.
2. What has made the modern man lose the knowledge of traditional medicine? Do you
think Ayurveda will make a comeback in a successful way?
Ans: As the author himself points out, the belief of the native doctors that if they told others
about their medicines, the medicines would lose their potency has resulted in the loss of
knowledge of traditional medicine. Secondly, since the sadhus and godmen have more or less
been illiterate, the knowledge has not been carried forth in the written format. Thirdly, those like
Mara who have benefited from such medicines, exaggerate the facts and hence the facts are
mistaken for fiction. Fourthly, even the educated lot, like the author himself, take a long time
even to pursue the matter and see if there is truth in the claims made by people such as Mara.
In addition to all this, Ayurveda is dismissed by allopathic practitioners as bunkum.
So, Ayurveda has to fight the ignorance of the illiterate and the arrogance of the literate.
Moreover, it has to combat the indifference of the government which has not really tried in a
significant way to explore the possibilities of ayurvedic care.
The increased use of herbals in our medicines, pastes, sometimes creates a hope that there will
be a revival in the field of Ayurveda and its implementation.
3. 'Our natural resources are our vital resources'. Explain the statement in light of several
'developmental' projects that are being promoted today.
Ans: India is a peninsula covered by water on the three sides and protected by the Himalayas
on the other. The land has many mountains and rivers and three-fourth of our land is
agriculture. Also, our human resource, which also a natural resource, is strong. Thus, the
topography of India makes it very clear that our natural resources are our vital resources.
Hence, we should try to improve our economy in the area of natural resources. When we do this
we will tap the potential of our human resource. But, the sorry state of affairs is that we are
promoting projects which harm natural resources as they involve machines instead of people.
Sadly, we consider them 'developmental'. They are far from being developmental and they have
brought the nation and the people of the nation to the brink of disaster. We should have projects
which would tap solar energy, harvest rainwater and recycle natural resources.
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