MSN supports Kerala Ayrveda

[Guest guest]

Here is an article that appeared on the MSN India homepage today - it

is a good promotion of Kerala Ayurveda.

 

Kerala ayurveda chain draws Westerners

Source: IANS.

New Delhi, March 13: Weak and shaky with the chemotherapy she had

undergone for cancer, Heike Hornsmann regained her strength from an

ayurvedic treatment course at the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala in

Kerala.

That was six years ago. Now the German national is undergoing a 14-

day ayurvedic treatment course at Kottakkal's hospital at Karkardooma

in east Delhi for "loss of balance".

There are always five to six foreigners in the 46-bed hospital,

reflecting a growing preference in the West for ayurveda.

"After my 14-day treatment last time, the Kottakkal doctor gave me

some gold powder ('swarna bhasma') and asked me to take a tiny pinch

every day. I took it for three months and regained my strength," said

Heike.

For her current symptom of "loss of balance" - due to a nerve in her

right ear going dead - she is going through a 14-day course that

includes "dhara", where medicated oil is poured in a thin stream on

the forehead continuously for over an hour.

"Allopathic doctors in Germany said it would take over a year for

some relief. I hope this treatment works fast," said the 50-something

Heike, who organises international workshops on management.

Kazu Masuda from Japan is getting treated for kidney stones at the

same hospital. Masuda, 47, who was a member of the Ayurveda Research

Society of Japan, said he is aware that ayurveda works slowly.

"With ayurveda, one doesn't get immediate relief, but the healing is

long term. I prefer ayurveda," he said.

The Ayurvedic Hospital and Research Centre at Karkardooma, which

started its services in October 2000, generally treats cases like

arthritis and skin ailments and also sometimes cases of depression.

According to P.R. Ramesh, chief medical officer at the Karkardooma

branch, arthritis and skin diseases like psoriasis are 'chronic

lifestyle disorders' triggered by stress and ayurveda can provide

great relief in such cases.

Most diseases have a "psychosomatic angle" - they are connected to

the working of the mind, he says.

At the Karkardooma Kottakkal Hospital and Research Centre "long

running problems" like arthritis are treated through processes

like 'panchakarma' and 'dhara' and patients are encouraged to change

their Lifestyles, said Ramesh.

Ramesh, who has been involved in cancer research with the Calicut

Medical College in Kerala, says though Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala has

started research in cancer treatment, the medicines prescribed are

for palliative care.

"We give medicines for improving the quality of life of a cancer

patient. Our medicine does not tackle the disease - we have not

reached that stage yet," says the soft-spoken Ramesh.

"Our hospital has been getting patients due to our reputation spread

through word of mouth of patients who have had treatment here. We do

not believe in advertising," he said.

"Last year the hospital received 35 percent cases from abroad,

including NRIs and foreigners."

The Karkardooma hospital, built in typical Kerala style with brick-

coloured sloping roofs, has a kitchen where fresh herbs are cut and

boiled for a "kashayam" (herbal concoction) or made into a paste for

treating in-house patients.

There is a duty doctor and several trained female and male masseurs.

It has a large dispensary where medicines are brought from its Kerala

manufacturing unit and stocked.

Ever since the main Kottakkal centre was founded in Kerala in 1902,

Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala has expanded with 20 centres spread across

the country and 1,500 authorised dealers.

It runs four hospitals, including two in Kottakkal and one each in

Kochi and New Delhi. It has opened a distribution outlet for its

medicines in the Gulf.

Last year, 1.8 million patients (out patients as well as in-house)

visited the Kottakkal dispensaries and hospitals in the country,

marking a 10 percent increase over the figures in 2003, said Ramesh.

Kottakkal's sales of medicines in Delhi - through the Karkardooma

hospital and a separate dispensary - are worth around Rs.800,000 to

Rs.1 million a month.

The Karkardooma hospital has about 70 patients visiting it on

weekdays and over 100 during weekends.