In Mowgli's land

ANJOLI BANDYOPADHYAY visits Pench Tiger Reserve, the site of many a conservation scheme and finds the woes wrought upon the people there by …

Pickle, tea and a spice

Weeds of fortune

Dying practice

Lack of medicinal plants forces village doctors out of trade

A green company in a grey market

There was a time when Payinthulasi, a 40-year old herb gatherer of village Utchananthal in Virudunagar district of Tamil Nadu, had to trudge to …

Hypothetical cure

Unlike allopathic medicines, Ayurvedic products are not clinically tested before they are introduced in the market. This raises doubts about …

On the Edge

In Vietnam, an astonishing array of species, some never before encountered by humans, are being threatened by deforestation and an illegal trade …

Win one, lose many

India needs to have a hard look at the sources of all its varied traditional knowledge and how to protect them

Charming no more

The saperas (snake-charmers) of Delhi loive in a unique colony called Mollarbandhgaon. This community, located next to the Badarpur thermal power …

Textile therapy

A handloom trader experiments with traditional medicinal herbs for dyeing garments

The inside story

Bad health is good business. The pharmaceutical industry knows that. But now bad health is turning out to be good business for the food industry …

Super Market

Secretive. Exploitative. Is the market in Minor Forest Produce unmanageable? sopan joshi finds out

Non-profit diseases

There is a logic to the idea of neglected diseases. Historically the diseases poor people get--largely in the poorer parts of the world--haven't …

An amla a day

Keeps the doctor away

In dubious battle

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) has failed to curb illegal trade in Indian wildlife and wildlife products. …

Dangerous make-up

A warning against indiscriminate selling and buying in a new fad: herbal drugs

Common sense about common salt

In earlier times, a mixture of salt, herbs and spices or a simple dose of salt by itself was considered a prime cure for a range of illnesses.

Kani vs Kani

Kanis are dragged into bureaucratic wrangling, pitting them against each other

The red tape vs Kanis

The forest department reserves the right to conserve arogyapacha, and prevents Kanis from selling it outside

The miracle-makers

Scientists are only now finding out the Kanis' knowledge of herbal remedies. The most outstanding find so far is arogyapacha

Loss of the wild

Greed has taken a heavy toll on the wealth of herbs in India. Manufacturers of herbal products are cutting the very branch on which the industry …

Building bridges

Both allopathy and Indian systems of medicine can gain from each other, provided practitioners interact with an open mind

Perjury and other afflictions

While the market for herbal preparations is maturing, laws and regulations have failed to keep pace with it

The wealth of tradition

Vietnam has taken a keen interest in tradional medicine since its independence in 1954. In the war against colonial France and later the …

Tough trial

Can Indian traditional medicines transfer their ancient efficacy to the modern era?