How can you not be cured by a medicine called Living Magic! That is what ‘Zinda Tilismat’, translates to! With a name like that, can you wonder that it claims to cure everything from colds to upset stomachs to toothaches, to ‘new’ ailments like swine flu and bird flu? (But no, I haven’t heard of its use in Nipah, I have to admit!)
The ‘wonder drug’ was formulated by Hakim Mohammed Moizuddin Farooqui, way back in 1920, and has been manufactured in the Zinda Tilismath Karkhana in Hyderabad since then. This Unani medicine is basically made from aromatic herbals—mainly eucalyptus, and also some camphor, menthol, thymol, etc. Amazingly, you can apply it externally or ingest it.
The pack seems to have been unchanged for all these 100 years too. It carries a picture of a spear-toting African. The reason, it seems, is that the founder was so impressed by the Siddhi guards of the Nizam that he thought that such a picture on his medicine would give it an association with strength and well-being.
I have no idea if there have been clinical trials on this medicine to substantiate any or all the claims. But can you argue with a sale of 1 crore vials every year?
And the romance of the name! I am ready to be cured of anything with this. And, to its credit, the ingredients cannot do me harm!
As a Hyderabadi for some years, I obviously knew of this magic potion. But as we do with things which are local, I didn’t bother to buy it or try it. Now that I have left Hyderabad and someone reminded me of ZT, I became obsessed with it! So I made some friends buy and send me some. Now I am waiting for some (minor) illness to strike me, so that I may be magically cured.
So I suppose my message is, everything is in a name! An invaluable lesson to product managers (I began my life as one), innovators, company founders, et.al.
–Meena
Millennial Matriarchs 
I simply love the smell. And yes, it’s a magic formula to cure cold, cough, ache in tooth or ear. I pass through the karkhana I Hyderabad and the entire area is filled with the aroma of zinda tilasmath. Khoob saal zinda rahe yeh Zinda Tilasmath😀!
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Very true, half the disease is cured by hearing the name only!! It sounds like it will simply make the disease disappear…though now a completely acclimatized Hyderabadi, I confess I still did not find the courage to use it, but now seeing your enthu to use it, I too am inclined to take the plunge!!
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