As I write this, I’m sucking on a twig. I have no idea what it is, but my landlady (and downstairs neighbor) says it will help restore my voice. As we were leaving for Night Under the Stars, Alka greeted us and discovered my laryngitis. She quickly ran back into her house and returned with a baggie full of little sticks, some kind of Indian herb. A university professor, she said, “You know, my voice is my livelihood, so I have used this many times! Just suck on one until it loses flavor, and then start another.” I worried that the sticks might not mix well with red wine, so I saved them till this morning. So far – and I’m only only stick number one – I can attest to a soothing quality of the mild liquorice-flavor. Still no voice, though.
Breakfast of champions.

You know I couldn’t just suck on a stick without researching it first, right? Well, I actually started sucking and THEN started researching, but look what I found! As I suspected, the wood chip under my tongue is liquorice root, called “mulethi” here in India. According to the Speedy Remedies website, this little stick can cure just about anything, from bad breath to genital herpes. Laryngitis? We shall see.