Karalmanna in Palakkad district, Kerala, is a nondescript village. A 300-metre walk down a winding path from the main road leads one through a canopy of trees, accompanied by the chirping of birds to the nursing home of the Nechiyil family and their manufacturing unit Sidheswara Drugs.
In an anteroom attached to the nursing home sits Dr Shashikumar Nechiyil, who is diagnosing Chandini (35) of Vaniamkulam. She suffered a stroke during her pregnancy. Nechiyil is a fifth-generation rasa shastra therapist. Rasa shastra is a branch of ayurveda in which metals and other substances, including mercury, are purified and combined with herbs to treat illnesses.
Waiting next in line is Habeela, a student from Kochi, who is suffering from skin allergy following a surgery for septal deviation. “Last week, I had come for the first time and the rashes on the skin disappeared within a couple of days,” says Habeela.
The smell of oils used for massages and ‘dhara’ therapies, which is synonymous with ayurveda, is clearly missing. Instead, Leela, a worker, is engaged in purifying mercury in a traditional stone grinder. Another worker Safiya is making Vanga bhasmam, while the deft hands of the women seated next to her are preparing Kaseesa bhasmam, all of which have metal ingredients. At one corner, bright blue flames can be seen. Manikandan, a worker, says: “We are producing Sidhamakaradwajam, which cures neurological complaints.”
Incidentally, the metals and minerals are used in ‘minute’ dosages. The treatment is a combination of Sanskrit and Tamil cultures, combining ayurveda and sidha. “The same combination can be seen in the art and science of Kerala,” says Nechiyil, who studied ayurveda in Kottakkal Ayurveda College, Kerala and completed Doctor in Medicine in rasa shastra from the Gujarat Ayurveda University, Jamnagar.
His family members were the physicians of the Kollengode Raja. On occasions, they were also invited by the Zamorins of Kozhikode. “My late father Balakrishna Vaidyar, grandfather Raman Vaidyar and great grandfather Narayanan were all in the same business,” says 51-year-old Nechiyil. “They have left more than 50 palm leaf manuscripts on rasa shastra.”
Compared to ayurveda, rasa shastra treatments are affordable. “A single dosage of 40 mg of gold only costs `300. Similarly, a single dose of 60 mg silver, which is a panacea for bronchitis and infections, costs just `50,” says Dr K P Krishnaprabha, wife of Nechiyil, who manages the unit. “For its treatments, the family uses 12 metals, which include iron, zinc, lead, tin, mercury, brass and bronze; minerals like tourmaline and gems; corals like conch shells, pearls, oyster and toxic herbs,” says Chandramathi, the mother of Nechiyil, who supervises the preparations. But all the medicines are not congenial for everybody. The constitution of the body is studied before administering a drug.
The production manager of the government-owned Oushadhi, Dr Jayasree, said that the Nechiyil family has maintained high quality standards by following all the purification and incineration processes. “If the bhasmams are not purified, it is a huge risk. Last year, we had purchased medicines worth `8 lakh,” she says.
S N Kumar, the head of the department of Geology at Kerala University who has known the Nechiyil family for 15 years, says: “Usually no one will reveal the secrets of ayurvedic formulations, but Nechiyil conducts workshops to propagate rasa shastra.”
Hearth and Health
■ Rasa shastra is a branch of ayurveda in which metal and other substances, including mercury, are purified and combined with herbs to treat illnesses.
■ The metals and minerals are used in minute dosages. All the medicines are not congenial for everybody. The constitution of the body is studied before administering a drug.
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