Itty Achuthan, a hereditary vaidyar (physician), who contributed ethnomedical information for the compilation of Hortus Malabaricus, a 17th-century treatise on medicinal properties of the flora in the erstwhile Malabar, is slowly sinking into oblivion at least in his birthplace.
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A view of the neglected medicinal plant garden of Itty Achuthan at Kadakkarappally near Cherthala in Alappuzha. | Photo Credit: Suresh Alleppey
Today, little remains of Achuthan’s imprint at Kadakkarappally near Cherthala, where he lived before being recruited in the 1670s by Hendrik van Rheede, the Dutch Governor of the Malabar who compiled one of the oldest comprehensive books on the natural plant wealth of the region containing descriptions and illustrations of 742 plants. A small wooden ‘kuriala’ (a place of worship) with a thatched roof and Achuthan’s medicinal plant garden on the family property are in an advanced state of decay. Though the State Archaeology department declared the kuriala a protected monument along with the garden a few years ago, hardly any measures have been taken to conserve them.
A testimony of neglect
The kuriala with a salagramam inside has since been declared a memorial to the physician. However, the door of the weather-beaten structure, believed to be in existence since the time of Achuthan, was destroyed recently. “The wooden panels are in a rotting state and the entire structure is on the verge of collapse,” says Harikrishnan, a descendant of Achuthan, who lives on the ancestral property. Uma, his mother, lights an oil lamp in front of the kuriala every evening. “Last time work was carried out on the kuriala was almost a decade ago when members of the Government Lower Primary School, Kadakkarappally put a metal sheet over the structure. A lot of people have approached us willing to contribute to conserving the structure. it is a protected monument and we cannot do anything,” says Uma.
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Overgrown wild plants and trees in the medicinal plant garden reflect a shocking testimony of decades of neglect. “We do not know if any medicinal herbs are still there. The government should at least build a fence around the garden,” says Murali Umadas, another descendant of the physician.
Conservation project planned
The Archaeology department, meanwhile, says a project would be implemented to conserve the kuriala. “I have visited the place recently. The kuriala needs some conservation work. The most important thing is the work should be carried out without tampering with its original character. We are going to prepare a plan and it will be materialised before the end of the current fiscal. In the case of the medicinal plant garden, we need to see whether any traditional and important plants are still there. It cannot be considered a monument like the kuriala. But we are also looking into it,” says E. Dinesan, director, Archaeology department.
Achuthan was born into the Kollattu family, known for hereditary physicians. According to researchers, the ethnomedical information presented in the 12-volume Hortus Malabaricus, which was published between 1678 and 1693, was extracted from palm leaf manuscripts by Achuthan. Volume 1 of the book contains a note by Achuthan, dated 20 April 1675, describing his contribution to the work.
The physician may be forgotten in his birthplace but there are befitting memorials to Achuthan in the form of herbal gardens and statue at the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram and the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute for Plant Sciences, Kozhikode.