The house lizard (Gowli) belongs to the family that includes snakes, chameleons, and monitor lizards. Its scientific name is Hemidactylus frenatus, and it lives up to seven years. Lizards even have a branch of astrology named after them. In Kerala, predicting the future based on lizards is known as Gowlishastra. It is believed that a lizard's chirping or fall gives good or bad signals about ongoing human activities. In many countries, including India, there is a common misconception that lizards are poisonous.
In Southeast Asia, lizards are considered bringers of good luck. In parts of India, hearing a lizard chirp is seen as bad luck, while in other parts, it indicates that what was being said right before the chirp is true. If a lizard chirps from the eastern wall when you are setting out for something, it is considered auspicious, whereas chirping from other walls is seen as inauspicious. A lizard falling on the right shoulder is believed to bring good fortune, and on the left shoulder, bad fortune. There is also a traditional belief that touching a lizard or consuming food contaminated by its droppings causes skin conditions like leprosy or vitiligo. Though many dislike snakes, chameleons, and lizards, house lizards actually help clean homes by hiding in small crevices and eating insects and spiders. While people believe a lizard's chirp during a conversation signifies truth, it is actually the lizard's way of communicating with its own species. A female lizard lays two eggs at a time, and in the past, "lizard egg size" and "kazhanju" were traditional local measurements.
Small round candies slightly larger than cumin sweets were once called "lizard sweets" during school days. Lizards face many enemies, with cats being their main indoor predator, along with birds and snakes. When caught, their standard defense is to shed their tail and escape. The severed tail wriggles for a while; this self-amputation of a body part is called autotomy, and a new tail grows back later. The tail bones are a continuation of the spine, made of multiple vertebrae attached to muscles. Certain vertebrae at the base of the tail have a weaker fracture line made of cartilage instead of hard bone. When the surrounding muscles contract rapidly, the tail breaks off. Sphincter muscles immediately close the blood vessels at the stump, preventing significant blood loss.
Blood clots quickly seal the wound, and a new tail grows within 30 days. The wriggling motion is driven by spinal nerve fibers (Reissner's fibers) operating automatically when severed. Shedding a tail requires considerable energy because the tail stores fat, much like a camel's hump. Therefore, a lizard resort to shedding its tail only in extreme emergencies. If it senses that the predator has left, it may even eat its abandoned tail to minimize energy loss. Elders state that if food is contaminated by the droppings or bodies of lizards, cockroaches, or other pests, it can cause persistent skin diseases such as eczema, ringworm, vitiligo, or leprosy. These can also spread by sharing towels or personal items used by affected individuals. While some medical branches only offer symptomatic relief, experienced people note that homeopathy offers notable treatments. Before seeking any treatment method, it is always best to consult expert and experienced doctors. Palayam Nizar Ahamed. Copyright reserved solely for the publisher. Author Palayam Nizar Ahamed (M.Nizar Ahamed) Writer| Journalist |Blogger| Poet| Editor-in-Chief | Flash News-Breaking News Bulletindaily |for investigative reports & editorial writings.
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