Green valley amidst greedy Mumbai suburbs

Raj Merchant, a naturopath, has developed and maintained a nursery of herbal plants in the Mumbai suburbs. His is the only herbal plant nursery in the entire metropolis which took fifty years of untiring hard labour. 

Apart from working on the nursery, Merchant had to guard it against encroachment and land grab, the task which is far more challenging than nurturing the nursery. Land mafia which has been eyeing his 1.5 acre property in a prime suburban neighbourhood, could be successfully dealt with by Merchant.

Now, 50 years of his untiring effort is bearing the fruits. His nursery is flourishing with flora and fauna. He can boast of 500 plants, herbs, bushes, creepers, flowers and fruits. Some of the plants are exotic with exceptional medicinal properties.

Located in Malad, in North-West Mumbai, the nursery has three multi-storied buildings and an army depot for neighbour and is known as 'Mr. Merchantwadi'.

While the military presence in the area gives Raj a sense of security, he is not complacent about the protection of his nursery. He has kept five dogs to chase away intruders. 

The 65,000 sq feet (or 1.5 acre) property in the Mumbai suburbs, as per conventional estimates, is valued at Rs.1.3 billion. 

The 65-year-old naturopath works round-the-clock everyday. He moves around in Mumbai and Thane to treat his patients with fresh extracts from freshly procured herbs grown in Mr Merchantwadi. His clinics are a big draw for those who are fed up of other systems of medicine.

The legendary shehnai exponent Ustad Bismillah Khan, late music director Naushad (Ali), Bollywood actors, Asha Parekh and Manoj Bajpai were among his prominent patients. 

He treats hypertension, diabetes, skin ailments, asthma, tuberculosis, spondylitis, arthritis and many other ailments with ease. Among them are various types of cancer, which he treats of cost. 

As nature creates diseases, it also provides a cure, is his maxim.