Mini N. Vijayan
Carmel College of Arts, Science & Commerce for Women, Goa, India.
Title: ‘Pathila ‘ concept - Ten traditional leafy vegetables from South Indian wild flora
Biography
Biography: Mini N. Vijayan
Abstract
Indigenous communities are resourceful in relation to ‘Eco- centric’ knowledge base which is acquired through life experiences in their struggle for survival. Oral transmission of such treasured lessons will be lost forever if not documented & preserved for the posterity. The science behind ancient cultures are now being studied with more urgency as the modern world is getting to understand the need to codify the same. Ethnobotany in part deals with the knowledge about local plants, their uses& their cultural values and one such study is done in this paper, documenting ten species of leafy vegetables which grow in and around homesteads and backyards during the monsoon season in Kerala (South India). The book written in Malayalam language by Late Smt. Parvathy Antherjanam- ‘Antherjanangalude aacharanushtanangal’ (‘Customary rituals & religious rites observed by women of Brahmin community’, 2002) has helped the author to know the local names of the sps. so that the scientific documentation could be done of the same.
‘Pathila’ (‘Pathu’ means ‘Ten’ and ‘Ila’ means ‘Leaf’) is a group of ten wild plants which come up in abundance effortlessly in accordance with the torrential South- west monsoons, which are cooked together as a side dish. In this paper, all ten sps. are documented, nutritional & medicinal values reviewed. All of them have great nutritious value and some among them can even reduce hyperglycemia. Sauropus androgynus is an example in this regard. In this era of modern food preferences involving expensive exotic ingredients, awareness regarding indigenous edible sps. and their valuable properties which come to the doorsteps of humanity at ‘no cost’, can boost conservation, sustainable utilization and a sustainable economy.