Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Malyavant or Mali hill range is everything for the people of the 45 picturesque villages nestled in it. The hills, belonging to Odisha’s forest department, are the provider of herbal medicines in the villages located just five km from Semiliguda town in Koraput district.
From minor skin infections to heart diseases, neurological disorders, high blood pressure and paralysis, jadibuti (herbs) from the hills are traditionally seen as the perfect cure. Taking this idea forward, 10 disharis (traditional healers) jointly started the Sri Gupteshwar Herbal Medicine and Traditional Technology Research Institute in the year 2000.
“We are not qualified doctors. My elder brother and mother also work as disharis. My grandfather’s father was a dishari in the court of Maharaja Vikram Dev of Jeypore kingdom. We have come this far by practising the knowledge that our forefathers passed on to us… This facility will ensure that the traditional knowledge we possess will not fade away once we are gone,” Sri Gupteshwar institute’s director Hari Pangi (52) tells 101Reporters.
