Our home then had a fence, the fence was all thick plants and wood, the plants grown on the fence were all medicinal plants. Every Thursday grandma picked leaves and flowers from different plants from the fence and made a blend of them, in the stone grinder that was used in the kitchen for grinding the masalas. and she gave us this fresh drink, we had to gulp it down we liked it or not. And this was an amazing living, which I now miss the most, and also feel that our kids don’t have this privilege of living all-natural in nature itself. Cherished days were those.
Herbal drinks and Kashayas have been a lifestyle routine in our lives, then and even today. Any aliments, any illness, all we go back to then and even today is just herbs and herbal decoctions. I remember, as kids, we went to Dr. Patwardhan, an Ayurvedic physician, and as he examined us, he would make the fresh formulation of the medicine and we were up and running in a couple of days.
Now, in this time, too, in whatever sick feeling, all we do is go back to the kitchen, the herb shelf and make herbal drinks and kashaya.
When friends come home, traditionally we offer kashaya. Tea, Coffee is made only if the guest asks for the same. I have plenty of friends here in Bangalore, who when visited me for the first time and offered them kashaya, (which is usual to me) I could see a confused look on their faces, they did not want to disappoint me, but at the same time did not want to be offered a bitter drink! I would assure them kashaya need not always be bitter, this is a fantastic tasty version and is an all-time drink. Kashayas, maintain the balance in the body, make us immune to diseases, keeps the body cool, helps in digestion, treats all digestive disorders, build core strength in the body and keeps us healthy, and increases longevity.
Kashayas, which we make at home, is made of 18 herbs and this maintains the body well and keeps our mind relaxed and what best way to live the natural lifestyle that not just makes us proud of our traditional treasure, keeps our body and mind at ease, not worrying about the lifestyle diseases that come because of the stressed life that we lead every day. All-natural living puts ease into every aspect of our lives when our mind is calm, steady, healthy, and balanced, what is that we cannot achieve. All this starts with conscious eating and drinking.
My home town is a rich land of biodiversity. Blessed to be born here with nature nurturing our body and mind. Plenty of diverse herbs, plants, and trees right in our gardens and all around our homes. A little further from our home is forest, farms, fields, streams and also waterfalls.
A lovely feeling to be growing in nature. In my grandma’s home, as I was a child, we played with calves, in the veranda, such a lovely feeling, the newly born calves as they grow, they used to run around the Tulasi Katte (a nicely grown Tulasi plant in front of the house, that’s worshipped) My grandma, used to say, the calf feels the wind in the ear and it runs without control, and it was fun for us.
Grandma had a cowshed with desi cows, only she would milk the cows and we weren’t allowed in at that time, otherwise, we spent time simply talking to the cows feeding them grass. Calling out their lovely names. My grandma’s favorite was a black desi cow named ‘Lakshmi’, she never allowed anyone to come near her at any time. They were let go out in the morning to grace in the forest area, they all came back home in the evening at the same time as every day. We used to keep count of who came first and ‘Lakshmi’ was always the last to go and first to come and wait at the gate.
Deepawali was fun when we got the cows bathed, painted the horns with dark shades, and also painted the body of the cows, this was the fun part, grandma made a mix of colours, one color in a vessel was made of water and off-white mud, also the other vessel had the colour of red mud and water. We used to dip the water drinking glass, in it and made stencil paintings on the cows. Also decorated the cows’ horns with flowers, coconut, and veggies as crown and as a necklace. On this particular day of the festival.
We are what we choose…
