At 96, Aryavaidyan P.K. Warrier looked frail but ebullient. The doyen of Ayurveda who took Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala to heights of global fame celebrated his 96th birthday on Thursday amid an elite crowd in a unique way.
Without breaking any of his daily routines, Dr. Warrier spent over an hour at a special function held at Arya Vaidya Sala, in which his closest disciple K. Muraleedharan released a book on Ayurveda to commemorate the birthday.
The book titled Ayurvedam: Arivum Anubhavavum , a collection of essays penned by Dr. Muraleedharan, was described the best gift for Dr. Warrier. Enthused, excited, and unmindful of his physical weaknesses, Dr. Warrier called upon doctors to treat patients with their heart.
He shared several interesting anecdotes in which practitioners of traditional medicine made remarkable achievements in their treatment. Dr. Warrier cited examples of some living persons who were brought back to life from comatose by Ayurveda. He advised people not to eat what they want. “Give your stomach only what it needs, and not what you like,” he said.
Handing over the book to Dr. Warrier, writer and activist Khadeeja Mumtaz said that modern doctors were losing their creativity by sticking to clinical or treatment protocol. “This suffocation of protocol is one of the reasons I took VRS,” Dr. Mumtaz said. “There’s no same treatment for the same illness. It varies from person to person,” she said buttressing Ayurveda theories.
She said that failure of doctors in finding a synergy between modern and traditional medicines would be a great loss for the patients.
Introducing the book, K.G. Poulose, former Vice Vhancellor of Kerala Kalamandalam Deemed University of Art and Culture, described it as gem in the medical literature. “It is a model for ideal medical literature. A medical prose that abounds in poetry,” Dr. Poulose said.
K.S. Money, Arya Vaidya Sala general manager, presided over the function. Arya Vaidya Sala chief superintendent P.M. Varier, Arya Vaidya Sala Charitable Hospital superintendent P. Balachandran, senior officials T.S. Murali, P. Rajendran, S.G. Ramesh, Ganga R. Varier, and C.E. Unnikrishnan spoke. P.P. Rajan proposed a vote of thanks.
