Thanks to the anandaiah effect, as they prefer to call it, the queues in the Ayurveda shops near the state Ayurveda hospital on Bandar Street have become longer here.
Buyers are said to be interested in ‘Kabasura Kudineer’, a traditional formulation used by Siddha practitioners. The preparation contains the ingredients that Mr. Anandaiah of Krishnapatnam in Nellore District used in his herbal preparation for COVID-19, which has become the state talk.
Demand for Kabasura Kudineer has increased after some videos went viral on social media and pharmacists are almost out of stock. Sources say some companies in Tamil Nadu are supplying the drug.
According to Fr. Srinivas of Sri Sai Dhanvantari Agencies, 200 to 300 people a day have visited his shop for the past few days. Usually they get around 100 buyers a day. “Most customers ask for Kabasura Kudineer and the demand is entirely thanks to Mr. Anandiah,” he says. The preparation supplied by TN companies contains around 14 ingredients, he adds.
In line with this, K. Hari of Sri Lakshmi Prasanna Anjaneya’s Ayurvedic Shop says that people are looking for a cure for COVID-19, whether it is Kabasura Kudineer or some other preparation. “Before Anandaiah’s preparation became popular, there were few buyers for Kabasura kudineer here, nor did doctors prescribe it,” he notes.
Phase exist?
“This is just a wave and people don’t seem interested in switching to the Ayurvedic system. They are now more prone to prophylactic treatment. All they want now is a way to get out of the COVID-19 pandemic. You come into stores looking for drugs suggested on YouTube or WhatsApp. There are also requests for another drug, Ayush 64, which is not on the market, ”says Hari.
The first wave of COVID-19 spurred Ayurvedic drug sales as people were interested in “stronger” immunity. Since then, stores have been prominently displaying containers of chyawanprash. Giloy Ghanvati, juices like Amla and Giloy-Neem-Tulsi were some other things that were in demand. Mahasudarshan Ghanvati, Ashwagandha and Guduchi have been among the fast-moving Ayurvedic medicines since March to April 2020.