OH! For A Kerala Oil Massage...health tourism in IndiaBy Suna Kanga
With a prayer to Lord Dhanvanthari, the god of Ayurveda, the lithe Seebu anointed my hair and lathered my body with warm, fragrant oils prescribed by a doctor. “We need to ask questions about your health, even if it’s a single Rejuvenation Treatment so we can choose from our wide range of herbal oils,” noted the in-house physician at the Taj Garden Retreat, Varkala. Ayurvedic therapy is attracting many visitors to palm-fringed, coastal Kerala, an enchanting Indian state hugging the western seaboard of India, far south of Goa. We pursued the trail of Ayurvedic massage from a beach resort at Varkala (near Trivandrum), to the romantic backwaters of Kumarakom, then up into the game sanctuary in the Thekkady hills. Last but not the least, we visited the historical ports of Cochin and Calicut where the Taj Group has fully-equipped Ayurvedic centres.
Stretched on the slippery wooden table with protective rims, I placed myself in Seebu’s hands and began to relax as she lavished the coconut-based oil in firm, sweeping gestures along my limbs. Her hands firmly traced my blood channels with the heated oil in a 45-minute procedure that was more a deep application than a massage. As the god of Ayurveda looked on, my therapist (“they are not masseurs”) heated more oil on a small stove and silently laboured to the strains of soothing music. The session ended with an aromatic steambath and a shower from which I emerged with a great sense of well being. Even the colours of the sky, sea and foliage seemed richer. I was ready to repeat the experience!
Kerala’s serenity, one soon realizes, is not only derived from a sylvan landscape of coconut palms and azure waters but its holistic way of life. Ayurveda or the Knowledge of Life (Ayur means life and Veda knowledge) is a natural healing system that treats the individual rather than the disease. Ayurveda, a 5,000 year-old healing science, believes that the human body operates in cycles that occur in multiples of seven. Thus, treatment packages are planned over a period of exactly 7, 14, 21 or 35 days.
Our trail next took us to Cochin, the gateway to Kerala, where the spanking Tamara Ayurvedic Spa attracts guests at the ocean-front Taj Malabar hotel. Stunningly located facing an ‘eternity pool’ that seemingly flows into the sea, the Spa also houses a beauty salon and gymnasium.
Said the physician who supervised the Spa: “In Ayurveda, we not only study the mind, body and spirit but also the diet and lifestyle before giving treatment. Each person is a unique personality and we take this into account.” She talked about the three doshas or equilibrium mechanisms of the body, known as Vata, Pitta and Kapha, which must be in balance for a harmonious life. In Kerala, oil application has an important role in human life and from birth the baby is smeared in oil. Ayurveda believes that even the narrowest passageways of the body need to be routinely cleansed. Our final stop was Calicut, an old commercial port in North Kerala that seemed to beg for some rejuvenation along the beachfront. At the Taj Ayurveda Centre of the Taj Residency set within a green haven, we met serious followers of Ayurveda. Stressed by family problems, Mrs Shah of the U.K. had checked in for a week and stayed for three. “My blood report has improved considerably… The atmosphere is such that you forget your problems. The staff is wonderful and they make us follow a strict regime, starting from 6am. Medicines are lined up for us in our rooms,” she said.
Often, medical reports are requested before patients are accepted for treatments. “The Centre has three physicians and five treatment rooms. We generally take about 25 cases although there are 74 guestrooms. We have had an air-hostess from Switzerland, police officers from Oman, and a Scotsman who came in panting and went away pounds lighter after 35 days,” said a hotel executive.
He added that the famous Dhara treatment or pouring a steady stream of medicated oil or buttermilk on the forehead is only introduced in 21-day or 35-day packages. “This therapy, prescribed for problems related to the nervous system, is highly specialized,” he cautioned. “Sometimes, people come and ask for various treatments but it cannot be lightly administered. The body cannot accept medication in large amounts. It’s not like going to a bar and asking for a beer!”
Tourist information: Kerala Tourism website: www.keralatourism.org; Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces website: www.tajhotels.com. Text and photographs by Suna and Rusi Kanga Copyright (one-time publication right) |
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Her white sari was hitched to her knees and protected by an apron. Gold gleamed against her dusky complexion and her white teeth sparkled when she smiled in welcome. Then she asked me to strip. “Everything?” I asked. She rolled her head in Kerala style, nodding from side to side. It was my first Ayurvedic massage so curiosity overcame inhibitions. She girdled my waist with a G-string and sat me on a special wooden bed.
His five-and-a-half year Bachelor’s degree course in Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery included experience at the well-known Arya Vaidya Chikitsalayam (Hospital) & Research Institute in Coimbatore city. 
Several airlines fly directly into Trivandrum airport, Kerala, or one can enter India through the gateway cities of Mumbai or Madras and transfer to a domestic flight. Nandankumar, the uniformed, English-speaking chauffeur assigned to us for ten days, met us in an air-conditioned Ambassador car – an extravagance we did not regret. He first transported us to Varkala, a laid-back beach town an hour’s drive from the capital, Trivandrum, (officially Thiruvananthapuram). Here, at the Taj Garden Retreat -- a cliff-top property set amidst a lush garden near paddy fields and coconut groves -- we had our first Ayurvedic massage.
Deluxe de-stressing with Ayurvedic massages and therapy heightens the Kerala experience. In Varkala, rejuvenation massages are complemented by serene boat trips to the backwaters and glorious ocean views from The Cliff, a stunning locale lined by lively restaurants with fresh seafood set out on slabs of ice. “If you are the type who doesn’t want to go anywhere, come in the monsoon in June – it’s heaven!” noted the genial GM. There was also a Nature Cure Institute nearby.
Kumarakom, our next destination, is a region of great beauty and meditative charm. Here, in “God’s Own Country,” a region of palm-studded waterways and vast lakes, a former Prime Minister of India underwent Ayurvedic oil treatment at the Taj Garden Retreat. Guests stay within the 119-year-old Baker’s Bungalow, home to four generations of a missionary family or in well-designed cottages facing a lagoon. At the Ayurvedic Centre, oil massages include complimentary steam baths. 
There was no better way to continue unwinding than to drift through Kumarakom’s therapeutic backwaters in a kettuvallam or traditional cargo boat, past the tiny homes of farmers and fisherfolk within shady coconut groves. For a full treatment, we spent a memorable night on a picturesque, fully equipped two-bedroom houseboat created with coir, palm leaf, bamboo and wood. Pampered by a staff of three, we glided through waterways of indescribable beauty and witnessed gorgeous sunsets on a tranquil lake. {Place Picture #9 here}
At Thekkady, four hours away, it was time for another rejuvenating oil massage and a water safari on Periyar Lake. Periyar Tiger Reserve, one of India’s major wildlife sanctuaries, is the place where tigers, elephants, wild boar and leopards play hide-and-seek with visitors. The animals won this round and we returned to our rustic, thatched chalet on stilts at the Taj Garden Retreat to assuage our disappointment with jungle juice cocktails. 
We also visited a lush spice plantation where pepper and cardamom covered a hillside. Kerala’s forests and hilly tracts nurture an abundance of herbs, creepers, plants and trees, extremely valuable in preparing Ayurvedic medicines.
For first-timers in India, Tamara Spa is the place to undergo professional treatments in an atmosphere of luxury close to a vibrant city. 
A visitor from the U.K. was effusive about her first Ayurveda encounter here. “I was all clogged up after my long flight but the oil treatment cleared up my sinuses within hours… My eyes watered profusely but it worked!” said the cheerful lady who took the single session, two-hour bath and exfoliation package that included the instilling of medicated oils in her nose, ears and mouth. Holding oil in one’s mouth is not palatable but is said to strengthen the teeth. 
For Bella of the U.S., this is an annual, secret hideaway for arthritic treatment. “The luxury does not interfere with the therapy. This is a place for serious treatment,” she noted, and where necessary the doctors may recommend switching off the air-conditioning. A young woman suffering from rheumatoid arthritis noted that her condition had improved by 80 percent. “I started treatment at a Coimbatore hospital and now come here for follow-up treatments as this Centre is run by the same people.”
“We have tied up with the Taj Group because people do not want a hospital atmosphere. We advise patients to follow a strict vegetarian, alcohol-free diet during treatment as the digestive system does not function at full capacity and one can become weak,” noted the doctor. Evening programmes include meditation, talks, cookery demonstrations and Ayurveda buffets. 
Just ten kilometres north of Calicut is Kappad Beach where the fabled Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama, first set foot in India in 1498, almost 500 years ago, lured halfway around the world in search of black gold or pepper. Today, people from distant lands come to discover the secrets of healing oils and herbal decoctions at health centres and resorts under whispering palms along the same coast. Health tourism is certainly getting a good boost from Ayurveda.