Around a Medicinal Creeper
by K.P. Poornachandra Tejaswi
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The narrator documents his twenty-year investigation into a mysterious medicinal creeper. The story revolves around Mara, a forest-dweller who shares incredible, often "bizarre" stories about the plant's powers, such as healing a deep wound instantly or causing teeth to fall out. While the narrator initially dismisses these as "yarns," two events change his mind: a scientific experiment where the plant’s juice turns milk into a solid, rubbery mass, and the successful treatment of a farmhand named Krishna’s piles using the plant’s tuber. The essay highlights the value of traditional Indian herbal medicine and the risk of losing this knowledge due to the disappearance of forests and the "mystification" practiced by native doctors.
Detailed Summary
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Around A Medicinal Creeper | 3D Animated Detailed Summary | 1st PUC Karnataka Board
Poornachandra Tejaswi narrates his long-term quest to verify the properties of an unusual medicinal creeper. The journey begins when the narrator is building a bamboo frame for a coffee seed bed. A worker named Sanna brings a bundle of creepers, and Mara scolds him for plucking a particular one. Mara ties the creeper to a tree, explaining it is "cursed" by a sage so that it becomes invisible when someone truly needs it. Tying it is the only way to ensure it stays put.
The plant has leaves like betel leaves and bears fruit in grape-like bunches. It appears during the rainy season and dies quickly after. The narrator observes that because it is invisible for most of the year, people like Mara use "curse" stories to explain its seasonal nature. However, Mara’s "yarns" go much deeper into the realm of folklore.
The source-based folklore of Mara
Instant Healing
Mara tells of a time he cut his hand while cutting bamboo. He pressed a leaf against the spurting blood and bandaged it. When he went to a white doctor at Hulihindalu, the doctor removed the bandage to find no sign of a wound at all. The doctor was so amazed he offered his entire estate if Mara could find the plant, but they searched all day in vain.
The Tooth Loss
Mara claimed he lost the teeth on one side of his mouth because he brushed them with a stick from a particular forest plant, causing them to tumble out instantly.
The Reanimated Deer
Mara shared a story about catching a barking deer, cleaning it, and wrapping the meat in leaves. When the packet was opened at home, a live wild buck jumped out and ran away. His wife had accidentally thrown the "magic" leaves into the fire.
Two incidents that change the narrator's mind
The narrator initially views these as "cock and bull stories." However, his skepticism is challenged by two major incidents. First, an acquaintance named Appanna mentions that the creeper's juice can harden milk. To test this, the narrator and his friend Chandru (a plant pathologist) conduct an experiment. They mix the leaves with a liter of milk in a mixer. To their shock, the milk becomes firm and rubbery within minutes, falling out like a moulded cast.
Second, a former farmhand named Krishna develops a serious case of piles. Modern doctors suggest surgery, which Krishna cannot afford. He consults a Malayali godman who describes a plant. The narrator realizes it is the same creeper. They dig up the tuberous root (identified in the text as Gloriosa Superba), and Krishna drinks it with milk for five days. He is completely cured. Even the narrator, who eats a small piece of the bitter root, finds that a painful swelling on his heel disappears.
A reflection on Indian medicine
The essay concludes with a reflection on the state of Indian medicine. Traditional knowledge is often lost because native doctors keep it as a "secret potion" (mystification), while modern doctors often dismiss it as "bunkum." The narrator advocates for scientific research into these plants before the forests and the people who know their secrets disappear forever.