A couple of days ago I spoke with the resident Ayurvedic Doctor of Cardamom County, Dr. Vinu. Having a family tradition in ayurvedic practice like Ratheesh, he completed a five-year BAMS (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine & Surgery) at the Alvas Ayurvedic Medical College in Mangalore, Karnataka. Dr. Vinu’s connection to ayurveda comes from his father’s side. His grandfather, Dr. Cherian, was a traditional practioner of ayurveda. He told me about how in those days, everything was prepared by hand and nothing was stored for longer than a month. The doctor would prescribe everything personally and even gave recipes for the quantities and ingredients needed to prepare the medicines to each person individually. Interestingly, Dr. Vinu said that when he was younger he wanted to be an allopathic doctor, but that his family tradition led him to the practice of ayurveda. He laments that the long-term and more holistic process of ayurveda is being lost in this fast paced and hurried world and workplace.

In ayurveda there are five main elements, which also correspond to four of the treatment rooms of Cardamom County, the five being prithvi (earth), jala (water), tejas (fire), vayu (air), and akash (space). Dr. Vinu also told me about the importance of physical observation and pulse diagnosis in ayurveda. We discussed the three doshas or body constitutions, of Vata, Pitha, and Kapha.

The Vata dosha are mainly leaner physiques governed by the elements of air and ether or space, Pitta have medium, strong and well-built physiques governed by the elements of fire and water, and Kapha have sturdier, heavier, and stronger builds governed by earth and water. A person can have a combination of two or even all three doshas known as a rare tri-dosha person. In the modern world the closest equivalent of this would likely be the ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph body types. He also showed me two essential ayurvedic texts he uses, the Sahasrayogam, which is literally translates to 1000 Formulations (or Slokas), and the Astanga Hrdayam, which is an extensive eight-part ayurvedic text on proper treatment methods and technique.

There are five basic medical treatments in ayurveda: swarasa (using the juice of herbs), kalka (using the paste of herbs), kwata (decoctions), hima (cold infusions), and phanta (hot infusions). We also discussed the fact that there was no refrigeration for much of the development of ayurvedic practice, which began over 5000 years ago all over India, and how this is what likely makes warm oil and heated herbal teas and decoctions very important parts of treatment.

When I asked what he liked about Cardamom County, Dr.Vinu said that he appreciated its great facilities and the warm atmosphere. What he enjoys about serving his guests is the satisfaction and gratitude the guests feel, which motivates him to do his best in helping relax, rejuvenate, and destress the people he works with.

In his spare time Dr. Vinu said that he liked to keep up to date on the latest ayurvedic journals and studies as part of his CME or Continuing Medical Education. He also told me about his fondness for movies, English ones more so than Malayalam ones. He especially likes science fiction films, citing The Island as one of his favourites. In the future Dr. Vinu said he hopes to one day open up his very own ayurvedic clinic in his hometown of Kunnamkulam in the Thrissur district of Kerala, where he can treat, heal and work with people in the place of his birth.