Kashmir discarding unani treatment, 400-year-old Kozgar shop might soon be history
Fifty years back in Kashmir, there was hardly any person who relied on allopathic medicines to overcome illness, and fifty years later there is hardly anyone left who doesn’t use chemically manufactured drugs to get healed.
“The side effects kept aside, it is very rare that these allopathic drugs will eradicate the root cause of the illness,” says Aziz Ahmad Kozgar, who is carrying forward the 400-year-old legacy of Kozgars.
His wooden shop decorated with antique glass ware, tumblers and flasks is just an extension of his ancestral house in the downtown Srinagar, close to the famous shrine of Shahi Hamdaan near Fateh Kadal.
Till some decades back, Kozgars were the biggest suppliers of unani decoctions and these days hardly anyone comes to their lone shop to buy some. “Many people still come to me after allopathic medicines fail them. These decoctions have no side effects and they are always effective,” he adds.
A descendent of an Iranian family, Aziz’s ancestors moved to Kashmir some 500 years back. His ancestor Syed Mohammad Nooristani accompanied Mir Mohammad Hamdani to Kashmir, who was the son of Syed Ali Hamdani, remembered for boosting the spread of Islam in Kashmir.
“My ancestors knew the art of making different decoctions of roses, spices and medicines. When they came to Kashmir, they started this peculiar trend of making ‘arks’ and ‘sherbats’. It was soon after their arrival in Kashmir that the trend of sprinkling rose water in shrines started,” says Aziz.
According to Aziz, many people still come to look for the rose water. They also supply rose water to different shrines in Kashmir during yearly religious gatherings. That rose water is sprinkled on the devotees.
Aziz who retired as a government official few years back, continues to maintain the legacy of his ancestors because making decoctions, according to him, is his passion and not a business interest.
“We prepared decoctions in huge quantities in earlier days as there was a huge demand. These days, hardly anyone comes to me asking for these harmless preparations. Even if someone takes it, it is very cheap and not sold for. I do it because I love it.”
As per Aziz, due to the changing priorities and lifestyles, people these days believe in ‘quick healing’ and don’t give time to proper eradication of root causes of illness.
“Nowadays, people want result in hours and in bid to get quick results, they only tend to harm themselves. In previous times, people had a lot of patience which helped them to heal properly and stay healthy.”
For Aziz, unani treatment had a mystic touch, which helped people with belief to heal faster. “That belief is missing in people of present times,” he laments.
“No doubt this shop might close too when I am not there. I ran it as a hobby and I had time. It is not necessary that my son can continue too. He has his own priorities,” he concludes.
