Bone-setters by tradition

Mohammad Aiyaz, a bone setter at Noor Khan Bazaar, makes sure that a person is well within a few weeks. With a series of photographs dating back to the Nizam era in which his great grandfather rubbed shoulders with the nobility in the background, Aiyaz works out his messianic magic. He makes sure that his visitors look at the picture of his father and grandfather that adorns the wall.

There are at least 20-25 bone setting centres in old city. Most of them have been operating for more than three to four decades and some who have been in the business for over half a century. Aiyaz says, “I learnt the tricks by watching my grandfather and my father but also did a course in first aid at Thakur Hari Prasad Institute of Research and Rehabilitation for the Mentally Handicapped.” So can the bone setters manage to serve people with fractures? Ali another bone setter at Moghulpura says, “We do not take cases of compound fractures. If someone comes with a sprain and a hairline fracture we can make them comfortable within a week or two.”

There was a lull in the business a few years ago but now people are coming back to us, avers Iqbal a bone setter. In many cases there is no need for people to go in for major operation but the problem is in getting natural medicines that our predecessors would get from nearby districts. Now we buy them.”

Now-a-days many people from the IT and ITES sector come to us with back ache and joint pains. “Two weeks ago, a young girl came to us with a complaint that she found it hard to get up from her seat. A few oil massages did the trick. People are realising the importance of natural medicines ,especially those made from root,” says Iqbal.