M A I N   N E W S

SUNDAY ANCHOR
Long queues for ‘magic cure’
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Philai (Kapurthala), January 11
Virtually defying prevalent medical perceptions and throwing these to the winds, hundreds of people rush to this otherwise sleepy village on Sundays to get rid of their varied tooth ailments "for ever" with the help of a "holy treatment" offered by a large number of "blessed" residents for over 100 years.

Though, interestingly, the village has been away from media gaze, people of the area believe that a large number of residents of the village are "blessed" with the unique power to cure any dental disease and pain just with the help of a "mantra"— currently used and practised by about 20 of residents of the village belonging to all age groups.

The "mantra", with a few precautions, has travelled for generations and was taught by forefathers of the village only to a few of their "disciples", who had a firm belief in God and saint Baba Budha Ji, to whom the ‘‘mantra’’ has been attributed by people of the area for over 100 years. Interestingly, the "blessed" forefathers did not necessarily transfer the "mantra" to their wards, but to anybody whom they thought could serve humanity in the best way and without any greed for money.

Morning hours on Sundays witness a large number of people making a beeline to the village to be blessed with the "magic cure", which according to the villagers, lasts for as much time as wished by the patient at the time of practising of the "mantra" at an open "holy" place in front of the village gurdwara. The patient is asked to stand at the place during the rendition of the "mantra" by any of about 20 "blessed" residents, after which seven pebbles are picked by the latter and thrown over the head of the former. Before throwing each pebble, the curing person renders the "mantra" twice.

During this process, the patient is asked to explain as for how many years he wants the "complete" cure. Interestingly, the patient has to tell the number of desired "dental disease free" years in odd numbers running only up to 99 — the optimum period for which the cure works. Then, the patient is told to leave the village on foot, without looking back and without having any word with anybody en route and without taking food from any of the residents till he or she crosses the border of the village. The precondition for the patient wishing to have the "holy" treatment is that he should come early in the morning without having any food and the affected area or the teeth should not have been touched by any surgical equipment.

"Thousands of patients have got treated here. This (treatment) has been going on even before the times of my grandfather, who also used to treat people," said Sadhu Singh, a 70-year-old farmer and one of the 20 odd "blessed" persons. He said only one patient can be treated by one "blessed" person in a day. Interestingly, no woman or any person, other than those belonging to the Jat community, can practise the "holy" treatment. He said a number of other residents who knew the "mantra" had shifted to foreign countries.

Mr. Baljinder Singh, a 24-year-old resident who has been practising the "mantra" since 18 years of age, said nobody could charge any money from the patients. He said all the 20 persons like him were "curing" people were doing so only as they thought this could be the best way to thank God, who had blessed them with the "unique" power to cure people and take them away from pain.