Insightful post. Yes we, in Pakistan still use a lot of 'desi totkas' which usually work. There are some people here who don't believe in all this and there's a vast majority that still believe in all of this. One thing is for sure, we cannot deny the benefits of natural things provided to us by the Creator.

For example if someone has a very bad cough, ginger, black pepper and honey does the trick. Similarly there are a lot of other things such as yakhni that cures chest congestion. I believe modern medicines are as important as the ancient medicine, that's because as we evolve with time the bacterias and viruses evolve as well.