Thillai tree is almost impossible to find these days. Only a few are still surviving discreetly at the Thillai Natarajan Temple in Chidambaram, which gets its name from the surrounding grove of Thillai trees.
Once upon a time, leprosy patients from all corners of India used to throng the shrine. Ancient hermits prepared a medicinal concoction from Thillai extracts which, as legend has it, cured leprosy. At the same time, a single drop of the milky juice from the plant can keep a person blinded for quite a while.
