HERBS AND HEALTH
Sweet in taste, pacifier of vata
Dr. R. VATSYAYAN

WATERMELON is a staple and refreshing diet in Egypt and Palestine. It is a native of tropical Africa and East Indies. It grows to a great size, even attaining 20 kg in weight. It has a smooth rind and though generally it is round it is also sometimes oblong. Watermelon varies much in form and colour. The flesh of the fruit is either red or pale whereas the seeds are black or reddish.

Watermelon came to India quite late, as ancient literature, replete with references to fruits and flowers, does not mention it. It was only Bhavaprakash, the scholar of applied botany, in the 15th century who for the first time described watermelon in his compendium called Bavaprakash Nighantu. Named as Suwarthla , Bavapraksh has described it sweet in taste and pacifier of vata . Interestingly, the ripe fruit has been told to be hot in effect.

The chemical composition of watermelon is reported to be 95.7% moisture, 0.1% protein, 0.2% fat, 0.2% mineral matter and 3.8% carbohydrates. In the Middle East and in the deserts of South Africa it is practically the only medicine common people uses in fevers. The juice of the ripe fruit is collected and after mixing it with a little rose water is given to the patients suffering from fever and heat exhaustion. The seeds are reported to have diuretic properties and they are used in a number of formulae curing the urinary tract infections in Unani medicine.

While eating melon, it is common practice to cut out a square from it . After putting sugar in the melon, the cut piece is again put back into it. It is served chilled after refrigerating for a few hours . Many popular brands of sharbats , apart from other ingredients, also contain seeds of watermelons . They are also used in different types of thandais.

A word of caution while eating watermelon. After cutting, it should be preserved in a totally hygienic manner, that too for a period not longer than a few hours. As this fruit in itself is rich in water content, it is advisable to postpone water intake for a while after eating it. One should also avoid eating watermelon at roadside because of its high susceptibility to catch and cause bacterial infection.

SPORT

49 probables for cricket training camp
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, May 14
As many as 49 players have been selected as probables for a training camp being held to prepare the under-16 and senior teams of the district for the Inter-District Summer League Cricket Tournament being organised by the Punjab Cricket Association.

According to a press note issued here today by Mr Vinod Chitkara, Secretary, Ludhiana District Cricket Association, Mr Satish Mangal would be the coach for the senior team, while Mr Vijay Singh would coach the U-16 team. The training camp will begin from May 15 at the Arya College of Boys ground.

The probables for the senior team are as follows: Gagandeep Singh, Ankur Kakkar, Rakesh Saini, Rajan Singh, Salil, Charanjit (wicketkeeper), Varun Gupta, Tarun Kanish, Rajesh Kumar, Gurpreet Khaira, Sanjeev Behl, Mohit Mangal, Tavish Gupta, Munish Pal Singh, Prabjot Khatra, Aseem Jindal, Jimmy Shankar, Luv Ablish, Gaurav Marwaha, Ashish Vinayak, Amul Sharma, Rajan Sharma, Amandip, Rajiv, Karan Likhi, Vikramjit and Harkirat Singh.

The probables for the U-16 teams are as follows: Tavish Gupta, Karan Goel, Rattan Bricher, Ashish Vinayak, Gurpreet Khaira, Chinton Sehgal, Ashish Sehgal, Gaurav Saggi, Sachin Sharma, Charnadip Singh, Dushyant Kohli, Savnit Singh, Sanjiv Behl, Ankur, Sushyant Kohli, Yogesh Kumar, Gagandip Dhand, Bharat Batra, Kartikay Mehta, Paras, Jasnit Singh and Rohit Aneja.