Stocked to the Herbal Brim
Stocked to the Herbal Brim
All your herbal needs under one roof! Mohamed Ebrahim Gandhi is a 120-year-old store in Pydhonie, Bombay, stacked with Ayurveda & Unani products
Belief in past practices seem to be coming full circle in fast forward mode. In most areas of life. The world seems to be appreciating old-world wisdom and has realised what it means to go natural. It's the best way, seems to be the current thinking. Be it in food, dress or everyday living. Likewise, in the world of health. What we put into our tummies defines how our physical state will turn out. We are sick of chemicals!
Enter Unani, enter Ayurveda, the medicinal system of yore. While Ayurveda is an over-3000-year concept, originating in India, Unani took roots in East Asia and the Middle East. And we can thank the Greek physician Hippocrates for setting the foundation of this medicine. The term Yunani means Greek. The system owes its present form to the Arabs who not only saved much of the Greek literature but translated much of it into their language and also enriched the medicine of their day with their own contribution.
An hakim, as the Unani doctor is known, relies on natural healing based on principles of harmony and balance uniting physical, mental and spiritual realms. Which makes me realise that faith in the healer and hope in being cured would also be important factors in the overall process. To believe, would be paramount.
To get to the 'root' of the matter, I drove to a heritage part of Bombay, crowded and noisy, but rather meaningful and historical; Pydhonie. Situated here is Mohamed Ebrahim Gandhi, an outlet for Unani and Ayurvedic condiments, established in 1907, that’s almost 120 years ago. In the same place, with the same space, with diligent and knowledgeable employees working here for three and four decades. Mohamed Ebrahim is now in the very able hands of Wasim Gandhi, a fourth generation scion. It was his great grandfather who introduced Ayurveda in Bombay.
To set the record, at the outset, let me inform you, UpperCrust had interviewed Wasim’s father, Yusuf Ahmed, 20 years ago and before that his father, for an article in Afternoon Despatch & Courier. Sadly, Yusuf passed away, a few months before COVID crept into the world and the responsibility of helping citizens along during those two testing years fell on Wasim, who had already been working with his father for over 10 years, ever since he was a teenager. “We were the only people allowed to keep our shop open in those days. And anything that would boost immunity kept getting sold out. It was difficult to stock up, but we worked round the clock, tried our best and managed. Making a difference in people's lives,” says Wasim. You can see he misses his dad immensely. He adds, ever since he made his father proud, by sourcing and bringing in his first consignment of pure olive oil from Tunisia in 2014, he is committed to the cause. “Believe me, this is my life, I come here early in the morning from Bandra where I was born and have lived all my life and stay here till evening happily serving people. I love it. I don't even care too much about my social life anymore,” says young Wasim, soon to get married.
I was trigger-happy in the shop. Which had people come and go, pick up what they needed, pay and leave or sit on the narrow wooden bench to discuss their problems and find the best solution. And there were all kinds of people; those who came on foot, on scooters, in swanky cars. For me, it was a treasure trove. Through the eyes of a photo journalist, elements are even more vivid.
The markings on the bottles, in Urdu and English and Hindi, all lined in the same order perhaps for a century. The more popular and commonly used products on lower shelves. The rare, extra special, on the top shelves, gathering dust, but not forgotten. Wasim and his staff know exactly what is where. I saw dozens of tiny oil bottles containing different oils, essence and serums. Little beige paper boxes containing dried flowers for tea, like chamomile and rose petals, flower powder sachets wrapped in cellophane; orange, gooseberries, rose, for use in face scrubs; sandalwood and multani mitti for face packs.
Additionally there was orange and lemon, beetroot, ginger lily, aloe vera. As also a natural toner called khusboi, which I learn is ginger lily, also known as kapoor kachi, for detanning.There was the purest of henna, twice-strained and genuine indigo, hibiscus powder to be used as hair dye.
There was also high quality dry fruits for consumption, like dried figs and black raisins used when facing constipation problems, a variety of seeds; pumpkin, watermelon, muskmelon and what have you.
Wasim gets the very best ingredients from time-tested sources. From descendants of people whom his grandfather bought from. Many of the ingredients are converted into tiny pills of different hues.
“Tell me Wasim, what are the most important ingredients in your shop?” I enquired. The answer comes soft and slow, “To be honest, it's honesty and integrity. It has to be. It’s not just me who is fourth generation, or children of employees, but also our customers. We have had families coming to us since decades. We have to make sure that that trust is not eroded.”
Yet, I still needed to know. After all, they stock about 600 condiments and ‘running’ items are 450. It is intriguing to know that these essential oils, hand-ground powders and pills are made from about 350 herbs, leaves, roots, saps, flowers, fruits, vegetables and spices.
So I gleaned from my conversation with Wasim, sitting on a loft atop the shop which I reached by climbing up a steep ladder, that the following things, in random order, are really sought-after.
Chamomile flowers, which they get from Croatia, Denmark, Greece and Germany. Helps those who suffer from stress and insomnia. Said to contain even anti-cancer properties. A Paralysis Kit which consists of a box of condiments, including harsingar ke phool, a jasmine that blooms only at night. This medicine increases blood circulation levels and shows results in about 20 days. The coarse powder is to be had after a hearty breakfast in boiled, warm milk and then again after lunch. What is avoidable during the treatment is anything cold or sour.
There is also Arjun Chaal which is helpful in blood pressure and cholesterol control, a natural blood thinner. Also good for the same issues is snow mountain garlic which comes from Kashmir. You have to just peel this garlic, crush it between your teeth and gulp it down with some water. A good preventive method.
Kalonji is probably the fastest-selling product in this shop. Can be quaffed in seed form, but more effective as oil. It is recommended that in a glass of hot milk, you add two tsps of kalonji oil and have it every morning after breakfast. It keeps your gut health intact, improves immunity and makes your skin look good!
Moringa leaves, powdered, also sell well and are supposed to be magical. It acts as natural collagen, has anti-inflammatory values and is great at steadying one’s metabolism. “We have moringa powder made from leaves of Indian trees, as well as those that come from South America, which is far more potent. The Indian one is Rs. 90 for 100 gms and the South American is for Rs480,” enlightens Wasim.
Lastly, we have Fatima’s Black Gum. A lot of research into this came from Wasim. It’s his baby. Comprises a sap and is used to address osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. It cures cervical spondylitis, frozen shoulders and knee joint pains, generally all kinds of muscular and nerve related issues. As it happens in most fields, there are always substitutes. And the unscrupulous ones, instead of using the genuine gum, which is in short supply, use the aloe vera sap (generally used by new mums to keep babies from suckling) which, in Ayurvedic terminology, is elwa, an urdu word. Sold off as kala gaund, it is a far cry from Fatima’s Gum. Apparently Gandhi has bought the sole rights to entire fields from farmers in some part of India. And they are the only suppliers to the rest of India and even the African continent. I can understand Wasim wanting to keep his source a trade secret. After all there are already four shops only in the vicinity named Gandhi, none which have any family or business connection with them.
I was personally very interested in knowing more about the frankincense sold by them. I know burning some incense is the age-old way of keeping enclosed areas not only fragrant but also clean, devoid of those microscopic organisms that seem to itch your skin. I believe the smoke chases away mosquitoes and tiny insects flying around, creating a nuisance. I wanted to burn some in the office, except I don’t like the strong stuff. Wasim said they have just what I am looking for, but it wasn’t in stock then. 'Could he send it to my office, in about four days?' They have a delivery system and it is free! True to his word it arrived. A small block of frankincense, from Singapore. Along with a packet of something that looked like biscuits. But no, they were a special kind of charcoal diskets. Very convenient. All you have to do is hold this disc with a tong to a lit candle, drop it in the incense container and sprinkle some of the powder that you have scraped from the block, and voila, there you have it, the softest-smelling fragrance gently freshening your surroundings.
Unfortunately, as the smoke lifts off the incense holder, no genie comes along to do your work. So one just has to get on with the writing... plod along girl...