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Society
Arun Kumar Das: A
Beam of Hope
by
Amarendra Kishore
Kalupada is just 60
kilometers from Orissa state capital Bhubaneswar. As one-steps down from
a train, there is innumerable taxi-wallahs shouting to attract
passengers for Alpaca. Wide roads make your journey quite comfortable.
This is not a Hindu pilgrim center, nor is this in news for hunger
deaths, which is true of some other places in Orissa. Kalupada does not
even have a 'child bazaar'. But the place is the last hope of persons
who have suffered multiple fractures and suggested amputation as the
last resort by the registered orthopedics. And the man who has turned
out to be the messiah is the 38-year-old Arun Kumar Das.
Arun is not a registered medical practitioner, nor he is a vagabond. He
is not providing door-to-door service, nor he is charging exorbitantly
for curing their ailment. He stays in his Kalupada ashram and treats
whosoever approaches him. He is too busy throughout the year to move
anywhere. After he finishes his diagnosis, he tells his patients to pray
to God that everything should go well. To him, medicine can cure
ailment, but prayers can change one's fortune. That is why he has
displayed images of various Gods and Goddess on the walls of his clinic,
exhorting time and again to the mercy of the Almighty.
He has become an expert in bone treatment. Everyday he treats around
hundred to hundred twenty-five patients. He takes special care in
treating problems of thigh and hip joints. He does not have any
operation theatre nor does he have groups of specialists. He never
suggests anybody to insert steel rods as he feels that it makes one
permanently disabled. Little bamboo sticks, bandages and black herbal
liquid solutions are few things that Arun treats patients with. Arun
calls his method of treatment naturopathy.
First of all, he sets the broken bones at the right place by gentle
patting. He never does it forcefully. Then he puts the black herbal
solution on a five-meter long bandage. He says, "The solution is the
mixture of ten types of herbs, the knowledge of which has come to me by
the blessings of my teacher." He wraps the bandage around the broken
limb. Though every fourth-day the bandage needs to be changed, it
depends on the seriousness of the damage as to how many times that needs
to be changed. However, he tries to make it as minimum as possible. For
the patients, who come from far-flung areas, he usually gives the
solution in powdered form so that they can apply on the limbs at home by
making solution. For every bandage about 100 grams of powder is used.
The powder is boiled with 'arandi (caster) oil and cow milk for a
long time. The solution thus made is allowed to cool before being
applied on the broken limbs.
Bone treatment is Arun's ancestral profession. This has been going on
since eight generations. He does not need a TV or newspaper
advertisement to popularize his curing system. But this is purely a
service to humanity rather than a money-spinning venture. He still
remembers his father's words even after 25 years, "If a single person
leaves your hutment without a smile on his face, your entire efforts
goes into the drain." Arun is very secretive about his herbal medicines.
He knows, if they fall into the wrong hands, then God forbid, this will
be grossly misused. Particularly, if the foreigners know these, poor
people will be deprived of its benefit.
So, the herbs are collected form the jungle only by his trusted men. But
even they are not allowed the knowledge of preparing the mixture, as
this is considered the key to the cure. Herbal solution while helps in
joining the bones, sometimes it weakens them. They need to be given hot
fomentation, which is an extremely specialized method. This Arun has
learnt from his grandfather. First of all, he applies caster oil on the
affected areas. Then a thick oil-soaked cloth is wrapped around,
followed by covering it with herbal solution. Then iron rods are heated
to the maximum and gently rolled over the oiled-clothes. The exercise
goes on for 20-25 minutes. The hot fomentation not only helps in
healthier bones, it can cure problems like spondylitis as well. In an
era of globalization and issues like patent and copyrights, Arun's
treatment may be considered archaic and unscientific, but this does not
perturb him.
Though the researchers from Germany and Spain with bags full of dollar
lured him, this honest therapist never agreed to sell his formula to
them. To him, service to the needy and their affection is the actual
wealth.
September 17, 2006
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Society
The Week of September 17, 2006
Fighting Terror: Musharraf's Offer Too Little, Too
Late! by Rajinder Puri
Clash of 'Words' not 'Civilizations' by Col.
Rahul K. Bhonsle
The Last "J" that Broke Bush's Back by Gaurang
Bhatt, MD
Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Havana, Sept 06
by Dr. Subhash Kapila
Social Rocketry by J. Ajithkumar
Are China's Rulers Illegal? by William R.
Stimson
Empires and Dust: Travels in Modern India II by
Ashish Nangia
Dating the Dunes at Sam a Photo
Essay by Sutapa Chaudhuri
The World is One Family by TA Ramesh
Arguments for including Bhoti Language
in the 8th Schedule of the
Indian Constitution by Stanzin Dawa
Understanding Mahabharata: A Woman's Fury, Soft
Skills and a Hero by Satya Chaitanya
And, the Clock Stopped ! by VK Joshi
Ustad Bismillah Khan: The Shehnai Maestro by
Yamini Ayyagari
Search Engines: Technology Behind Searching
by Ruchi Gupta
In Feline Company by Bijoyeta Das
Friendship Never Ends by Wazhma Frogh
The Night of Ten – La Noche del 10 by Dibyendu
Ghoshal
The Coast of Mendocino by Walter Durk
A Hope by Arya Bhushan
Ganga's Daughters by Julia Dutta
Investing in Women by Stephanie Hiller
Insurgency: The Long Way Down by Nava Thakuria
The Dark Side of Media Hype by Anuja Agrawal
On the Fast Track to Growth? by Usha Kakkar
Struggling to Make It: A Mother's Dilemma by
Rajesh Talwar
Arun Kumar Das: A Beam of Hope by Amarendra
Kishore
Pune: Down Memory Lane by Vikram Karve
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