Those registering for treatment have a range of cottages to choose from: the most expensive cottage is available for Rs 1,000 per day. This is a large hall, with two beds, a sofa-set and a TV with all the channels. The hall has an open verandah in the rear, leading to a large, neat toilet. The most important space in the cottage is the "treatment" room. This has a large table, made of teak wood, darkened with herbal oils. It is on this table that the human body is celebrated, treated with artful hands gliding over oil and herbal powder combined according to the shlokas written by the sages in times immemorial.
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Having lived in the south in the early '80s as editor of a newspaper which included extended driving spells through each district of Kerala, I find it remarkable that I was not lured by the ayurvedic ashrams then. First, we were much younger to require ayurvedic rejuvenation. More important, there were very few ayurvedic centres. Just as Satyajit Ray, Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan acquired international stature by their exposure first in London, likewise ayurveda has made a spectacular return to its home after having acquired audiences in the west and found a niche in enterprising five-star hotels in our metros. What clinched the deal for me was a visit to the CPI(M) headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram last year. The secretary general of the party, Pinarayi Vijayan, was exuding good health. He had just returned from a month's treatment at a nearby ayurvedic clinic.
