‘Go learn medicine and help your fellow beings’ — Sree Narayana Guru once told a young man who was the priest at Srikanteshwara temple in Kozhikode.
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The young man, who came to be known as Kaloor Neelakantan Vaidyar, later setup Arya Vaidya Vilasini Vaidyasala. The centenary celebrations of the Vaidyasala, ‘Ayurshatham 22’, began in Kozhikode on Sunday.
“This Vaidyasala gave a spiritual touch to Ayurveda. Ramdas Vaidyar, who later took over the reigns is known to have treated the society with humour and wisdom as much as he did with medicine,” said P.S. Sreedharan Pillai, Governor of Goa, who inaugurated the celebrations.
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Mr. Pillai recalled how the Vaidyasala upheld the principles of the Guru. “With the efforts of some of our famed physicians, the United Nations has recognised Ayurveda as an acceptable stream of medicine. However, it is yet to be accepted in many western countries and our goal should be to sensitise them as well,” Mr. Pillai said in his inaugural address.
Mayor Beena Philip, who presided over the event, recalled how the people always associated the Vaidyasala with Ramadas Vaidyar, whose out-of-the-box ideas such as coconut climbers’ college, ‘Viroopa Rani’ contest, and ‘honouring of the washing stone’ forced the public to think differently. “This generation associates the Vaidyasala with Ramadas Vaidyar, even decades after he passed away,” the Mayor said.
M.K. Raghavan, MP, Thottathil Raveendran, MLA, writer T. Padmanabhan and Department of Non Resident Keralite’s Affairs (NORKA) director Madhavan Anirudhan, besides Manoj Kaloor, the Managing Director of the Vaidyasala, were present on the occasion.
Earlier, Minister for Ports and Museums Ahammad Devarkovil inaugurated the seminar on ‘Reimagining research in Ayurveda’.
The centenary celebrations will be carried out for a year.