If injured Brazilian footballer Neymar had actually chosen to come to Kerala for Ayurveda treatment, then this would have been just about the perfect season for some TLC. Detox time for many Malayalis begins today with the start of Karkidakam. Consequently, people of all ages make a beeline for the many Ayurveda clinics and spas in the city for soothing massages and nutritious food, following an age-old tradition that calls for rejuvenation of the body and mind with natural remedies during the Malayalam month of Karkidakam.
Dr. S. Sathish Kumar of Ayur Health Care says: “A majority of my patients who sign up for ‘Karkidaka chikilsa’ are actually between 24 and 40. There is heightened consciousness about health, particularly among youngsters. They try to take time off to detoxify because of the pressures of modern, largely sedentary, lifestyles. These youngsters aim at preventing lifestyle illnesses such as back aches by taking precautionary steps. Thanks to the cool climate, this is, perhaps, the best time of the year to do it.”
Anand, 28, a marketing executive with an FM station, says it’s the right thing to do this season.
“We all have fast lifestyles that need a break now and then. I have been going to a Kalari for a seven-day pizhichil (massage) session during Karkidakam for four years now,” he says.
Several of the youngsters appear to have signed up for Karkidaka chikilsa, inspired by family or friends, who follow the tradition. Arjun Ravindran, 31, the marketing head of a hospital in the city, for example, says that he was motivated to take up a seven-day therapy session by a 60-year-old friend of the family, who religiously follows the practice.
“We play cricket in the mornings together. Every Karkidakam, though, this uncle steps back from strenuous activity and detoxes completely. He goes vegetarian and makes sure he eats nutritious Karkidaka kanji. He abstains from liquor and gets himself daily full body massages. As it is, I had been having back problems ever since my friend, who was riding pillon on my bike and who weighs around 130 kg, fell on me when we met with an accident! Last year, I tried out Karkidaka chikilsa for a lark and it was simply one of the most rejuvenating experiences of my life,” says Arjun.
Diet regime He adds that because he is a vegetarian, it was not much of a hassle to follow the pathyam (diet regimen) set by his physician.
“I had to give up on favourites like coffee and curd. But the Karkidaka kanji was so delightful and filling that it soon became the motivation. I lost 5 kg in the process and I believe it has kept my back pain at bay,” he says.
Corporate communications executive Arun Sasi, 29, meanwhile, is starting Karkidaka chikilsa, the coming week, urged by his childhood friend Mithun, who hails from a family of traditional medicine practitioners.
“This will be my second season. Last year, for a couple of weeks every day, I would take the 6 a.m. bus to Venjaramoodu where Mithun’s family run an Ayurveda hospital to get an udthvarthanam [massage with herbal powders] from him or one of his family members. The 30-minute massage was followed by a steam bath, before I headed back to the city for work. I would also have Karkidaka kanji once a day. I lost 4kg and have not had any monsoon-related illnesses thus far,” says Arun.
The youngsters claim that finding time for an extended therapy session is actually not a problem, despite their busy work schedules.
Hisham, a 29-year-old software engineer at an MNC in Technopark, another victim of backache, has been on intermittent Ayurveda treatments for the past several years now, particularly during the Karkidakam season. “I take two weeks off for it. Besides, in many employee-friendly companies, time off for this kind of treatment also counts as medical leave. My company even gives medical reimbursement up to a maximum of Rs 5,000 for the same,” he says.
As Arjun points out: “It’s just 30 days out of 365 that you have to set apart for your body. Can’t you do even that?”
