God's own city?

With more medical tourists opting for 3 main Ayurvedic treatments, Mumbai could well be the next top destination for treatment by the medicine system, after Kerala

As an increasing number of foreigners are flying in to be treated at city's Ayurvedic facilities, practitioners have an optimistic projection for the future of the 3,500-year old medical system in the city.

The cost and efficacy of the treatment known world over for its affordability at city's Ayurvedic centres is drawing at least 25-35 patients at every major facility on a monthly basis from across the globe.
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Both foreigners and Indian patients have lately shown a preference for the Vedic system of medicine, say Indian doctors

And doctors say the day is not far when Mumbai will turn into a hub for Ayurvedic treatment, a status currently conferred on Kerala.

The patients, both foreigners and Indians, have lately shown a preference for the Vedic system of medicine, doctors say.
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Driving the trend are three ancient treatments, suvarnaprashan, panchkarma and ksharsutra, which boast of curing a bevy of foreign patients.

Suvarnaprashan

Kohli said that every time a doctor goes for international seminars on the traditional science, they return with two or three patients for treatment in the city.
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But doctors are not content with the international attention alone. So in a bid to popularise it among citizens, they are administering 'suvarnaprashan' drops to children in Ayurvedic health camps.

"A few drops of a specially prepared mixture of pure gold, honey, and cow ghee, treated with medicinal herbs, if given to a child once a month on the auspicious Pushanakshatra day, helps boost their immunity.

In the last camp held at Podar hospital on December 13 last year, some 4,000 children had taken the drops. The next camp is on January 20," said Dr Kuldeep Kohli, director of state Ayurveda Department.

He added, "To popularise the drops, we sent a team of students and doctors to convince people about the benefits of this ancient science which originated in India."
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The hospital had also advertised in local television channels about the camps.

However, there is one grievance that Kohli and others who swear by Ayurveda have. They believe it is not given the due recognition it deserves in the land of its origin.

"Though Ayurvedic medicine is not popular for immediate medical care," Dr Kohli said, "In countries like China, the patient first gets treated by Chinese medicine and then is referred to for allopathic treatment.

We want to build a similar pattern in our country, especially in Maharashtra. And the first step is to revive the old glory."

Panchkarma

As the scale seems to be tipped in favour of the country's traditional medicine system, medical tourism, estimated to touch Rs 200 crore by 2012 by the Tourism Ministry, is likely to be augmented with overseas Ayurvedic patients.

Podar hospital treats at least 25 foreigners every month for panchkarma. "We have patients coming from Africa, America and Europe. The waiting list is at least a month long.

Whenever we travel abroad, many patients request us for Ayurveda treatment and we ask them to come to the hospital.
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Most of them have tried other branches of medicine and come to Ayurveda as a final resort," said Dr Raman Ghungralekar, in-charge of the Panchkarma treatment at Podar, adding that the hospital has an exclusive 10-bed area reserved for such patients.

According to the Ayurvedic literature, panchkarma can treat various diseases including chronic asthma, diabetes and skin related problems among others.

The Sion and Mittal Ayurvedic hospitals treat about 25-35 such patients coming in from other countries every month.

Ksharsutra

Apart from suvarnaprashan and panchkarma, Ayurvedic treatment for fistula and piles, called ksharsutra, is also popular among foreigners.

In the last six months, Dr K Rajeshwar Reddy of Podar hospital has treated at least 10 patients, hailing from New Jersey, New York, Singapore and the UK for fistula treatment.

"We treat such patients with an Ayurvedic procedure called ksharsutra wherein a medicated thread treated with turmeric and other ayurvedic herbs is used to stitch the opening, which is gradually closed with a cutting and healing procedure," said Rajeshwar.

Fistula is an anal fissure, a superficial linear tear, most commonly caused by passage of a large, hard stool. Patients suffering from fissures have no control over their stool.

Dr Veena Sharma of Sion Ayurvedic hospital said, "In recent years the awareness about Ayurveda has been on the rise and the major reason is word-of-mouth publicity.

Recently I treated two foreigners for fistula who were referred by a Mumbaikar who had benefitted from the treatment himself. With the hardships of modern life, people are falling back on Ayurvedic treatment."

10
Number of patients hailing from New Jersey, New York, the UK and Singapore who have been treated by Dr K Rajeshwar Reddy of Podar Hospital for fistula

Ayurveda for all
Recently, Ayurvedic, Yoga and Naturopathy, Yunani, Siddha, Homeopathy, or AYUSH, a department under the Ministry of Health and Family welfare, Government of India, reserved 20 seats for Malaysian citizens to study Ayurveda in the country's colleges.