Nani (her real name – she couldn’t care less about privacy) was dark, nearly 5 ft tall and had a perpetual expression of benevolence that was deceptive – for she could deliver a well-aimed punch that could send your teeth flying.

Her presence was felt - and revered - every dawn at my grandmother’s home when we all waited for the first coffee of the day to be brewed. Whether we had it black or with milk depended entirely on her bovine disposition.

And one summer, right in the middle of school holidays, Nani started trying to walk on three legs instead of four. Maybe she was learning to tango or maybe she was bored. She just didn’t want to put her right front hoof down. Her expression did not slip a bit - and Kunjumon, who came to milk her, was confident that this was a passing phase.

But when the limp progressed into week two, the vet was called in. He had a black bag, a fancy degree and an air that had half the village crowd around him in awe. Stethoscope in hand, he poked and prodded for a while before giving a prognosis that was not good. It was arthritis!

Injections were administered, medicines were prescribed, hot poultices were applied round the clock. But Nani still walked about trying to be a tripod.

When it looked like we might have to send her off, Kunjumon brought in Govindan, the local Vaidyan, as a last resort.

Govindan arrived with far less fanfare than the vet. He watched as Nani was made to walk back and forth. He watched some more – looked intensely into her black eyes - and then silently wrote down an herbal remedy.

Not for her leg – but for her eye.

For Nani did not have arthritis – the temporary blurred vision in her right eye made her unsure of putting her right hoof down.

Dressed in a simple white dhoti with a towel over his bare shoulder, Govindan did not have the same aura as the vet. No degree, no medical paraphernalia and definitely no crowd-pulling magnetism.

But he had an open mind with common sense, and ability with humility - far more useful and venerable than a fancy education and a fan following.