DailyPhoto Chennai

Erukkam Poo

9 comments on “Erukkam Poo”

1. 

   5 May 2009 at 8:58 am Jacob

   reply

   Most interesting. Never have seen these before. Do you use them for medicinal purposes?

   Ram: Their extracts have medicinal purposes and some of the common people use them to kill the female child born in their homes too (in a few villages in Tamil Nadu, though now its greatly arrested to a large extent), which is a sad development.
   • 

     7 May 2009 at 6:29 pm R Sathyamurthy

     reply

     Ram,

     I think it is not Erukkam Poo that is used in female infanticide, it is Arali Vidhai (Oleander Berries).

     I am not sure about its medicinal properties either.

     Ram: Ok … will check more on both questions raised.
2. 

   5 May 2009 at 10:24 am T.P. Anand

   reply

   This flower is seen in plenty towards Vinayaga Chathurthi. This is a favourite flower of Lord Vinayaga.

   Ram: Noted sir, Thanks.
3. 

   8 May 2009 at 6:35 pm Ms. Sepia Krishnamurthy

   reply

   Ram is quite correct Mr Jacob!!!

   At times, the mother is forced to hire a sweeper for a small sum of 25 rupees (50 cents) to dispose of the child by simply poisoning the baby with the latex of the calitropis plant, or holding her so close to a table that she cannot breath.

   Response from Ms. Sepia Krishnamurthy.
4. 

   9 May 2009 at 5:24 am G. Krishnamurthy

   reply

   As pointed out by Mr. Jacob, Oleander Berries (Arali Vidhai} also, among other methods, are used for female infanticide. At times, the mother is forced to hire a sweeper for a small sum of 25 rupees (50 cents) to dispose of the child by simply poisoning the baby with the latex of the calotropis plant, or holding her so close to a table that she cannot breath.
5. 

   9 May 2009 at 5:28 am Dr. G. Rajendiran, MBMS, MCh

   reply

   Ram is quite right in his observation Mr. Jacob!!!

   One method of killing a baby is by stuffing a few grains of coarse paddy into its mouth. The infant breathes the grain into its windpipe and chokes to death. But in some cases paddy doesn’t work. Annammal’s (Paraipatti} is a case in point. She said she had to take recourse to a juicy extract from the madar (calotropis gigantea) plant. In some families the husband grows a madar plant from the time his wife conceives so he can minister the poison if a daughter is born.
6. 

   9 May 2009 at 9:04 am Ms. Sepia Krishnamurthy

   reply

   Dharmapuri (TN) (PTI): Once haunted by the scourge of female infanticide, Dharmapuri district in Tamil Nadu has made big strides in containing infant killings with the number of such cases coming down every year.

   Girl children, considered here as a “drain” on their parents’ resources due to dowry, were either killed by feeding them with “Erukampal” (milk extracted from poisonous weed) or abandoned.
7. 

   9 May 2009 at 11:45 am R Sathyamurthy

   reply

   Thanks for the clarity from Dr. Krishnamurthy and Ms. Sepia Krishnamurthy.
8. 

   27 Aug 2010 at 12:11 pm Sasikala

   reply

   How is Erukkam poo commonly known in English?
   Can somebody help me out in this, please….

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