“Magic” in Berijam

Kodaikanal- The Switzerland of an average Indian. Located some 7000 ft. above sea level, this beautiful town is one of the most sought after destination during summer. Pleasant weather, appealing landscape and most importantly, affordable. What more can a regular man ask for. During the peak season (April to June), it is believed that the tourist population exceeds the home population.

Near this town is one of those places which not every tourist would see. Some 7100 ft above sea level on the Palani hills lies in isolation, the breathtaking, man made Berijam lake. Access to this spot is restricted and controlled by the government. Prior permission is required to enter this place.

The Berijam Lake

So what is so special about this place that has got it this special status? They say the surrounding has a variety of fauna to be protected. I don’t buy this reason. The area is home to animals like bison, langur, deers, etc… These are not endangered species, then why restrict the area? Another reason they give is this lake is a water source a town nearby- Periyakulam town. What do they mean? The Berijam was made a restricted area only recently. Few years back it was open to all. Didn't the residents of Periyakulam drink water those days? I don’t get their point. But there’s one thing lingering in my mind… may be there’s a third reason, a reason not told to all but left to the understanding of those who can sense it- The Magic Mushrooms! How many of the 32,000 people in Kodaikanal know about these little mushrooms? I am sure it should be less than 5%. How many tourists who come to Kodai know about these mushrooms? Should be even lower.

The magic mushroom

These mushrooms are supposed to be nature’s answer to the king of the psychedelic drugs- Lysergic acid diethylamide or LSD as it is popularly known. On consumption, these mushrooms give you the same hallucinating effect which LSD gives, but in a “natural” manner or so to say, we are talking about a “herbal” psychedelic drug. The psilocybin contained in the mushroom gives it it’s hallucinating effect. An investigative journalist, Peter Gorman on his visit to Kodai asked the lady who sold to him, how many mushrooms to eat in order to get a high. The lady replies “Take three and enjoy the countryside, take six and talk with Shiva”. This shows the kind of hallucination it effects on a person. These do not grow in many places. Apart from Mexico and parts of Australia, the shola forest surrounding the berijam is the only home to magic mushrooms in India. On my visit to the Berijam last year I found nothing very “sacred” about the place to be preserved. It was a beautiful place mainly because there were no people around, otherwise it’s a very normal tourist spot. So my take is that the government wants to close the gates to people from consuming this illegal mushroom. Why else would a place which was open to all, get classified as a restricted area one fine day?

It’s the right thing to give this psilocybin mushroom a low profile and restrict access to it so as to keep it away from the common man’s hand. Otherwise, Berijam would be filled with hippies listening to The Beatles doping away to glory in their artificial heaven. But think of what we might be missing. The psilocybin has some amazing qualities. They are the only known cure (though not clinically proven) for diseases like cluster head-aches and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Do not confuse cluster head-aches with migraine. Cluster head-aches are less common but the effects are higher than migraine. The pain is excruciating, especially behind the eye. Patients say the pain is like tearing the eyelids and poking the eye balls with an ice pick, ripping off the forehead portion. Experts say this is the most severe pain known to medical science. There are medicines that reduce the cycle of this head-ache but psilocybin is known to put a stop to it when taken in the right conditions and right dosage.

How a cluster head-ache feels like

So why shouldn’t the government try and do a research on these mushrooms? Maybe it has more medicinal values than we know! If we can make medicines for rare diseases with these mushrooms, apart curing providing cure, we can also add some revenue to our economy by exporting medicines. The Tamil Nadu Agricultural University already has a research institute in the Berijam. Why don’t they try and find out more about these mushrooms than just locking them inside? After all R&D is the only way to boost the growth of any economy. I do not think our red taped government personnel will ever think of researching much, let alone the magic mushrooms. To think of it, the world is filled with lots and lots of amazing things, sometimes very close to us. Our eyes are too busy seeing the regular stuff that it misses these little wonders of nature.

(By the way, to all the dopies who come across this post- Please DO NOT go snooping for the mushrooms in Kodai. I've heard that the police have spies all around the place. Psilocybin Mushrooms are illegal and banned. If the cops pick you with a mushroom they will beat you up black and blue. Also, if you do not know to pick, you will end up picking poisonous mushrooms. Berijam is full of poisonous look alikes.)