Dr. P.K. Warrier, who stood as a beacon
representing the very best in Kerala’s glorious Ayurvedic tradition, has
departed, leaving behind a difficult-to-fill vacuum.
The centurion, who was the epitome of all that is good and
great about Ayurveda, breathed his last around noon on Saturday (July
10). Dr. Warrier had celebrated his 100th June
5.
Dr. Warrier, the tallest of the Ayurveda practitioners in the
world, is the recipient of ‘Padma Shri’
in 1999 and the ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2010.
The Calicut University had conferred an honorary D. Litt. on him in 1999 for
his stellar contributions to the modernisation of Ayurveda.
Dr. Warrier, the youngest nephew of Vaidyaratnam P. S.
Warrier, the founder of Kottackal Arya Vaidya Sala, had taken charge as its
Chief Physician and Managing Trustee, after his elder brother’s demise in a
plane crash in 1954 and steered the institution into the single important
destination for anyone seeking ayurvedic remedies from their ailments, be they
from within India or abroad.
Under Dr. Warrier’s stewardship, Kottackal Arya Vaidya Sala
has evolved into a premier institution of ayurvedic learning, research and drug
manufacture. The Vaidya Sala today has five hospitals, a 300-bed facility and a
charity hospital at Kottackal, and treating hospitals at Kochi, Delhi and
Himachal Pradesh. The Vaidya Sala is also a major manufacturer of ayurvedic
drugs, its three state-of-the-art drug manufacturing facilities having an
annual turnover of $20 million.
Through the often-difficult journey through the second half
of the last century, Dr. Warrier remained unwavering in his commitment to
authentic ayurvedic practices and the lofty tradition of being there to cure
all, regardless of their economic status. Over 800,000 people benefit every
year from free consultations at Vaidya Sala’s hospitals and the twenty-two
branches located in different parts of Kerala and India.
Dr. Warrier has all along been a proponent of the idea of the
Ayurveda practitioner getting an insightful understanding of a patient’s condition
in the traditional way, through close interaction and physical examination,
rather than through diagnostic investigations. Even so, he has always been
ready to acknowledge the validity of other systems of medicine and ever so keen
to keep himself abreast of the developments in these fields.
Dr. Warrier has tried to propagate this holistic approach to
treatment of diseases through his writings and speeches, contributing heavily
to contemporary medical literature. His writings, speeches and research papers
have been compiled under the title ‘Padamudrakal’.
As Secretary of Arya Vaidya Samajam, he guided the growth of the Vaidyaratnam
P.S. Warrier Ayurveda College (previously Arya Vaidya Pathasala) for over two
decades, during the time when it was upgraded to an Ayurveda College.
Dr. Warrier made special efforts to incorporate technological
innovations in the manufacturing processes of Ayurvedic medicines to enhance
their efficacy and quality. In order to make the medicinal preparations more
accurate, he established a research laboratory for the identification of
medicinal plants and to ascertain the chemical identity of its pharmaceutical
constituents. Now, this facility has grown into the Centre for Medicinal Plants
Research, a full-fledged research institution.
