How herb of trouble led to broken teeth

LONG before he became a jailbird, Andy kept pigeons in his backyard. He was a businessman. Those were working birds that ferried the sacred herb to clients. On their return flight, they landed with rolled blue and purple notes tied to their feet.

The names of the buyers, sellers, places and innocent parties have been changed in this story. Many of them have since left my beloved Bangladesh Market district in Chatsworth and risen to high office in the church or state.

A few of the parties might recognise themselves. The one that chews on his right side lost two teeth for interfering in one of the transactions.

It happened one Saturday afternoon that Boya set fire to a mountain of garden refuse, adding a car tyre to aid combustion. The acrid smoke threw Polly off course. The bird landed on a fence within range of Muna’s slingshot.

We made slings from small forked branches that made a Y-frame, to which were tied strips of vulcanised rubber from the inner tubes of car tyres.

The Bible made that weapon famous as David wielded it against Goliath. Muna felled Polly with a single blue stone and relieved her of the burden attached to her tiny foot. Her quick burial was straight over the fence into the thicket surrounding the Silversteam Hindu Temple.

Muna would have gotten away scot-free had he not hurriedly gone on a spending spree of Tex bars and chocolate Super Moos at Sataar’s tuck shop. The bush telegraph carried the message to Andy, who took off his poor boy cap to deliver Muna a tight klap. That lightning rod had him spit two molars in quick succession.

Muna was sentenced to five years of cleaning the dovecotes. Andy’s luck also ran out as the corrupt narcotics cop Swanepoel got him mediumterm housing at Durban Central.

Throughout Andy’s incarceration, Muna kept the birdhouses clean.

In prison, Andy volunteered for library duty. Word is that he became partial to massage, aromatherapy and the healing powers of herbs.

He may well have passed around Valerie Ann Worwood’s excellent paperback, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy or Althea Press’s The Guide to Get Started with Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.

Closer to home, Benerik van Wyk, Bosch van Oudtshoorn and Nigel Gericke put together the beautifully photographed hardcover Medicinal Plants of South Africa, now in its second edition. It describes more than 150 plants, referring to medicinal uses, preparation and dosage, active ingredients and pharmacological effects.

One has no doubt that as Andy wheeled his book trolley between cells, he also traded samples of the herb that got him into trouble.

Find Higgins on Facebook as The Bookseller of Bangladesh, at #Hashtagbooks in Reservoir Hills and Books@ Antiquecafe in Windermere