As my quest for Ayurveda reached its soaring heights I couldn’t help myself from visiting the Kottackal Arya Vaidya Shala at Kottackal in the Indian state of Kerala. It is one of the pioneer institutions of Ayurveda not only in Kerala but in entire India and perhaps the whole world.

It was way back in 1902 AD when the institution was founded , by Vaidya Ratanam P.S.Warrier, the well known physician and social reformer, and today it has branches all over the state as well as in Delhi and Madras.

As I reached Kerala it immediately striked in my mind why Kerala has made such massive strides in Ayurveda. The equable climate, natural abundance of forests with a wealth of herbs and medicinal plants, and the cool monsoon season provide an ideal ambience for the practice of various therapies inherent in Ayurveda.

The chief physician, an extremely busy person, can be consulted by appointment only, made atleast 10 days in advance. I booked an appoinment and waited for five days until I finally met the messiah to many a diseased man. In those five days I made many rounds of the Ayurvedic research centre, the nursing home as well as the hospital- meeting people from all over the world who were undergoing various Ayurvedic therapies there. Their happy countenance proved beyond doubt that Ayurveda holds the panacea to their diseases.