A raw deal

Onions contain antioxidants and vitamins A, B6, C and E, folic acid and dietary fibre.

Raw onions are a tonic according to Ayurvedic medicine and can treat heat stroke. Onions if eaten uncooked can cool the body's temperature and can even be topically used to treat inflammation and burns.

Onions were used as a preventative treatment for cholera and the plague. The Roman emperor Nero used them as treatment for the common cold.

There is a lot of life that happens in the street below our apartment. This morning a huge load of onions was being sold by a farmer from the neighbouring state of Haryana. The cart was being pulled by a tractor through the streets and the onions were on sale for less than half the market price. The man was using a megaphone to let the residents know that he had a local, sweet white variety of onion.