Natural medicine: Septuagenarian sells wild herbs to make ends meet
Travels to capital’s outskirts to pick wild flowers, sells them at Aabpara.
Travels to capital’s outskirts to pick wild flowers, sells them at Aabpara .
ISLAMABAD:
Muhammad Rafiq squats on the sidewalk right opposite Lal Masjid in Aabpara on a chilly January morning. Shivering with cold, he requests each passerby to purchase natural herbs placed on a faded yellow mat in front of him.
“I walk from my home to various fields on the outskirts of Islamabad twice every week to pick Indian gooseberry, soap-nut, dandassa (stem-bark of walnut trees), wild flowers and roots” he said, wrapping his shawl around his frail body. These fresh as well as dried herbs had incredible health benefits, unlike the low-quality stale ones available in the market, he added.
Rafiq has been selling tonic herbs at the same spot for the past twenty years. “I have a number of regular customers who come all the way from Rawalpindi to buy from me” he said. Some medicinal herbs heal burns, wounds and various skin ailments while others treat infections and diseases, explained the 71-year-old.
“I also worked as a construction laborer in the Diplomatic Enclave for more than two decades,” he said, explaining that he had to leave his job since the contractor did not pay his due salary for several months.
Rafiq pays Rs200 fare to get to Aabpara market everyday and back to his house near Quaid-i-Azam University. “I use public transport and change three vans to get here,” he explained.
Rafiq is the only bread earner in his family. “My daughter has Down Syndrome” he said, as the sparkle faded from his stone-grey eyes and tears welled up in them. “I don’t know what will happen to her when I’m no longer around” he added, nodding his head sorrowfully.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2015.
Muhammad Rafiq squats on the sidewalk right opposite Lal Masjid in Aabpara on a chilly January morning. Shivering with cold, he requests each passerby to purchase natural herbs placed on a faded yellow mat in front of him.
“I walk from my home to various fields on the outskirts of Islamabad twice every week to pick Indian gooseberry, soap-nut, dandassa (stem-bark of walnut trees), wild flowers and roots” he said, wrapping his shawl around his frail body. These fresh as well as dried herbs had incredible health benefits, unlike the low-quality stale ones available in the market, he added.
Rafiq has been selling tonic herbs at the same spot for the past twenty years. “I have a number of regular customers who come all the way from Rawalpindi to buy from me” he said. Some medicinal herbs heal burns, wounds and various skin ailments while others treat infections and diseases, explained the 71-year-old.
“I also worked as a construction laborer in the Diplomatic Enclave for more than two decades,” he said, explaining that he had to leave his job since the contractor did not pay his due salary for several months.
Rafiq pays Rs200 fare to get to Aabpara market everyday and back to his house near Quaid-i-Azam University. “I use public transport and change three vans to get here,” he explained.
Rafiq is the only bread earner in his family. “My daughter has Down Syndrome” he said, as the sparkle faded from his stone-grey eyes and tears welled up in them. “I don’t know what will happen to her when I’m no longer around” he added, nodding his head sorrowfully.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 19th, 2015.