In India, modern medicine co-exists with ancient remedies. Haji Ali Mohd Mehta, who practises in Mumbai, is the 12th generation of a family of bonesettersA young couple walks into the first floor clinic, wife writhing in pain as she grips her right elbow. Jigisha had dislocated her elbow while lifting some utensils at her home in Girgaum, South Mumbai. One look at her hand and the hadvaid (bonesetter) begins his diagnosis: “A minor hairline fracture and dislocation of the elbow joint on the right hand. Look at this hand, the bone has come out of its socket. But don’t worry, we will set it right,” the bearded hadvaid tells Jigisha.At 60, Haji Ali Mohd Mehta is one of the oldest practitioners of this traditional medicine in the metropolis. He holds Jigisha’s hand and twists it to fit the hanging bone in place. Then sitting aside, Haji Ali asks his son Salim to take over. Salim delicately wraps a patti (soft cloth roll) around her elbow.“ I had come to this baba earlier when I dislocated my shoulder. His treatment always works,” says Jayesh, Jigisha’s husband.“The idea is to keep the bone straight without any movement. We apply an ayurvedic lotion on the injured part to bring down the swelling. It is a herbal mix that our family has used for generations,” says Haji Ali. Practising in Mumbai since 1942 when Haji Ali’s father migrated from their village in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, this is the 12th generation of the Mehtas working as bonesetters. They mainly deal with hand-, leg- and shoulder-dislocations, minor fractures and bone problems but make it clear that they don’t offer cures for arthritis or multiple fractures.“I learnt by watching my father. Our studies are based on practical experience and sharing of traditional knowledge. By the nature of swelling, the look of the injured part, or the way a patient is walking, we can gauge the problem. Our eyes are trained to look for anomalies,” explains Haji Ali.As Salim and Haji Ali work in the small clinic in Gulalwadi area of Pydhonie, 16-year-old Hussain watches keenly. “He is still young. It will take four years before he can start practising. Till then he has watch and learn,” says Haji Ali. Over the years, his wife Habiba too picked up the skill while waiting at the clinic for her husband and father-in-law to finish work. For close to 16 years, Habiba has been taking care of the women patients at the clinic. “I used to come here while the children went to school and college. I learnt from watching my husband and father-in-law. This is a skill we are proud of,” says Habiba.With the clinic in Gulalwadi, South Mumbai, surrounded by industries, Haji Ali says patients keep coming in with dislodged shoulders and broken hands.“Workers in these units come to us with minor injuries that they sustain while at work. They cannot afford the hospital bills and other expenses and come to us,” says Haji Ali. The Mehtas prepare the patti from sheets of cotton, which are meticulously washed, bleached and cleaned before being cut into rolls to be used as wraps. The rolls are unlike those used in hospitals for bandages.“I learnt my skills from him. After all, this is something that has survived several generations. I have watched my uncle and grandfather work in Gulalwadi,” says 30-something Farooq Mehta. He opened a clinic at Princess Street 10 years ago.Haji Ali’s father started his practice from their native village, Sihor, and the family now goes by the name Sihorwala. “Patients think bonesetters are old men, so they are taken aback when they see me. It is something that runs in our family—my father, uncle, grandfather, everyone I have ever known has been a hadvaid,” says Farooq. “There was never any doubt over whether I should take up some other profession. Trust and faith are of utmost importance, that is the only reason why patients keep coming.”Like his uncle, Farooq admits that they do not treat severe or multiple injuries. “We handle dislocations and minor fractures. If it is a serious case, then we ask them to go to an orthopedic doctor or surgeon. We know our limitations,” says Farooq.
