MAX YOUR WEEKEND FRIDAY, 05.04.2013, MUMBAI www.mid-day.com

FOODARTBOOKSSHOPSCULTURE

DHARA VORA dhara.vora@mid-day.com

The junction at Pydhonie nearHamidiya Masjid presents arather interesting picture for thecurious viewer. On one handyou have the beautiful andimposing green structure of themosque, opposite which standstwo derasars (Jain temples).And lining the wall of themosque are a host of store sell-ing Ayurvedic and Unanimedicines, with a sprinkle ofshops that buy and sell old zariborders. One of these stores isthe 106-year-old MohamedEbrahim Gandhi Store that dealsin herbal medicines.

With a simple vintage style

hand-painted board announcingthe name of the shop in English,Gujarati (for the Gujarati andBohri community in the area)and Urdu, the store is home to650 herbal medicines that willhelp you cure everything fromteething problems to heart con-ditions. 54-year-old YusufGandhi, the current owner ofthe store tells us, “My grandfa-ther (after whom the store isnamed) came to the city toescape the plague in Mangalore.He had been in the business oftrading herbal medicines sincehis time in South India and sohad his forefathers. Once herehe got married and also boughtthis shop for `250.” After hisfather, Gandhi took over the

store in 1979 and his been run-ning the store since.

The inside of the storelooks like a potions classfrom the Harry Potterseries, with glass bottleslining the walls fromceiling to the floor; con-taining several powders,

dried herbs and otherwhimsical looking ingredients.Gandhi who also manufacturesand exports his products to USA,UK, Germany and the Gulfunder the name, Raxson (theirfull name would be quite amouthful he feels) says that hisstore caters to everyone a beggarto royalty. But medicines for sex-ual problems are the mostsought after, after which comecustomers for diabetes, hair andbeauty products.

One of the most unique prod-ucts stocked by Gandhi includesand lizards, consumed to boostthe sex drive among men,“These lizards live 400 feetbeneath the sand in the desertsof Saudi Arabia, and surface atnight, when they are caught.Women, in Gandhi’s words,“who do not respond to theirmen,” can try the dry earth-worm mix. Abnormal as it maysound, these products have sev-eral takers in the city. But it’s notonly the closed doors mattersthat Gandhi can assist one in.One just needs to tell him aboutthe ailment one is sufferingfrom, and he will give you theherb for it. While we were at thestore, we saw a a steady streamof customers asking for medi-cines for diabetes, thyroid answollen muscles.

Ask Gandhi about the reasonfor surviving for so many yearsin the market, and he reasons,“the demand for herbal productshas grown over the years, sosince the time I joined businesshas only got better. But it is theenvironmental rules and regula-tions that worries this businessthe most. After a few years it willget difficult to source productswith breaking any laws.”

AT 390, Pydhonie, IbrahimRahimtullah Road; CALL 23464473

A week ago on March 27, the little blue pill orViagra completed 15 years of being approved forpublic use for treating impotence among men.But civilisations the world over have long beenresorting to nature in search of ingredients toboost vitality and serve as aphrodisiacs. One store,which has been stocking over 650 types of herbalproducts including several for aiding one’s sexualdrive, is Mohamed Ebrahim Gandhi in Pydhonie

(From Top) Preserved sand lizards;Banafsha is used for treating, cold,cough and thyroid; the store makesfor an interesting sight with itsglass jars; (Below) Yusuf Gandhi(left) and his son Wasim now runthe store. PICS/DHARA VORA

CITY HISTORY

SEX, JARSAND SANDLIZARDS