The reader is told upfront about the author's impressive credentials: T V Sairam, the author of The Penguin Dictionary of Alternative Medicine, holds a doctorate in alternative medicine and has written in different journals. Alternative medicine is an umbrella term that encompasses disciplines like homoeopathy, ayurveda, acupuncture, naturopathy, herbal medicine, and so on. Right now, there is a burgeoning interest in alternative medicine worldwide and in that sense this dictionary is well-timed. |
But, unfortunately there is a but, the dictionary, despite the author's academic credentials suffers on a few counts. On page four, the author explains aetites as: "Also aquilaeus, eagle stone and rattlestone. A purple-coloured concretion of mostly iron oxide, filled with loose sand that rattles when shaken...It is traditionally worn bound to the arm, as a protection against miscarriage, to prevent impending sickness and to prevent untimely death. It is also said to heal epilepsy and prevent premature births, and to aid childbirth when worn on the thigh." Should a layman take this definition to mean that the author is in some way endorsing this stone and its so-called healing properties? Further ahead on page 12, as part of the meaning of the stone amethyst, the author writes, "A transparent, purple quartz, the birth stone for people born in February." Except for devoted 'sun-sign' followers or UFO spotters, who should be seen as slightly underdeveloped (only tiny children still believe in the mumbo-jumbo of sun signs), can anyone be made to believe that a stone can be the birth stone of an entire populace born in the month of February, irrespective of place, time or year of birth? |
Alternative medicine has many advocates but often it is dismissed as being silly fads that only the gullible believe in. Homoeopathy, for instance has had to fight off the charge of being no better than a placebo for many years now and the debate still rages mostly tilted in favour of those against homoeopathy. With entries like these in a dictionary for alternate medicine (note the word medicine as opposed to therapy) the author does a big disservice to the entire genre. One is willing to believe in the healing powers of stones, but that there is such a thing as a birth stone defies common sense and logic. And if there is any sound basis for such a thing as a birth stone or for the belief that aetites does indeed prevent untimely death, then the author should have said so and attributed it to a credible source. |
Then there are other definitions that fall prey to loose descriptions. On page 13, the author writes about androdamas: "It is believed to restrain anger and alleviate lunacy." The words lunacy or mad (or madness) are almost never used to describe a psychiatric disorder today. Each psychiatric illness is now identified by a specific name and title. The danger here is that psychiatric illnesses are as it is shrouded in secrecy because of shame that a family feels when confronted with it at home and often instead of spending money on scientific treatment, families waste time and money in looking at hocus pocus (jado tona is often seen to be the reason for mental illness) for a solution often believing that to be the root cause of someone's "lunacy". The worst definition, in my dictionary is when the word aparajita is defined. The last line reads as: "In India women insert the roots of this plant into the vagina to avoid unwanted pregnancies." Do all Indian women do this? Have all, the operative word being "all", Indian women forsaken other methods of birth control? Or is the author on to something that many of us seem to be quite unaware of? The author shows care when tackling other words like aphrodisiac. He qualifies that "the sexual effects of aphrodisiacs are based on folklore". |
Overall the dictionary is a good effort and can prove to be handy to navigate the world of alternative medicine even though there are inconsistencies that need to be corrected. In the Introduction, the author takes full responsibility for errors and omissions and welcomes suggestions, so here it is: more rigour and careful use of words and phrases for the next edition. Consult this dictionary but do take some meanings with a pinch of salt.
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THE PENGUIN DICTIONARY OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE |
T V Sairam Penguin Rs 395; 325 pages |