Udipi; August 05: Generally it is the tradition of coastal people to drink milk (concoction) prepared from the bark of ‘Haale tree’ possesses medicinal properties on the auspicious day of ‘Aati Amavasya or ‘Ashad Amavasya”.
The ‘Haale tree’ is called ‘saptaparna’ in Ayurveda and scientifically proved and has got qualities such as Immuno Modulator, Anti -viral, Anti – cancer and prevention of cancer fibroid. Besides it is also good for the protection of liver, anti-amoebic, free radical savaging and also to reduce fever.
It is believed that the bark of the’ Haale tree’ should be brought before sunrise nakedly as it has got higher positive quality contents and as such the positive quality contents will be higher and superior on ‘Aati Amavasya’ day. The bark has to be removed with the help of stone
However one has to be very careful while choosing the tree as the bark has to be collected during the wee hours of the day, choosing the right tree is very difficult. There were instances where people have ended up endangering their life by consuming concoction prepared from ‘Kasarka’ tree bark, which is poisonous.
In order to prepare the concoction the bark should be squashed with water and mix Jeera (cumin seeds), Garlic and pepper to the concoction. There is practice of having a’ methi ganji’ after the consumption of Haale bark concoction.