We have all heard of brands becoming generic names for products, but Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala is probably the first institution that has become synonymous with the branch of medical services it offers — ayurveda.
A pioneer in the field of preparing and dispensing ‘ready-made’ ayurvedic medicines in the form of pills, Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala is the product of the dedication of three men — PS Varier, who founded it; his nephew P Madhava Varier, who took over after his death; and Madhava Varier’s younger brother P Krishna Varier, who made it a world-renowned institution and continues to guide it today.
Reclaiming lost ground
The late 1800s and early 1900s were not kind to the practitioners of ayurveda; the British, in a bid to introduce modern English medicines into India, had almost succeeded in reducing ayurveda’s status to that of quackery and mumbo jumbo. Since the preparation of ayurvedic medicines was a long and cumbersome procedure, and not all practitioners were experts in their field, it was easy to convince people to shift to allopathy. While several famous vaids continued to follow their profession, there were not many people willing to learn the same.
It was in this scenario, in 1886, that a young PS Varier took up residence at the house of the famous ayurvedic practitioner Kuttanchery Vasudevan Mooss to learn ayurveda under the gurukulavasam system. Having mastered the practice, Varier opened a village clinic in 1902 at Kottakkal in Malappuram district of Kerala. The very next year, he started the first ayurvedic magazine Dhanwantari and a Malayalam index for ayurvedic medicines. This was followed by a reference manual.
Basic tenets
Varier’s basic tenet was simple: to help as many people as possible by giving ayurvedic treatment following the traditional, time-approved methods. At the same time, he desired to lift the status of ayurveda to its original level by consolidating and codifying its many teachings, giving them scientific backing and making the knowledge accessible to the layman. To this end, he wrote many textbooks on ayurveda. (One of them — Ashtangasariram — was awarded a certificate of merit in 1932 by the National Association of Physicians.)
Recognising the fact that raw materials were available only seasonally and could not be processed throughout the year, PS Varier started a drama troupe in 1909 (today the AVS Natyasangam) to provide year-round employment to his staff and to revive the Kathakali dance form. He established an ayurveda pathashala in 1917 (today, this is the Vaidyaratnam PS Varier Ayurveda College) and a charitable hospital, Arya Vaidya Sala (AVS) at Kottakkal in 1924.
As forest cover dwindled and the availability of herbs became scarce, Varier, with tremendous vision, bought 120 acres of forest land in the Western Ghats in 1934 for growing traditional herbs, and ensured a steady supply of raw material. This has now grown to cover 220 acres and, apart from providing the necessary herbs for AVS’ medicinal preparations, also supplies seedlings to cultivators. It also receives financial support from the Medicinal Plants Board, Government of India.
Incredible foresight
Varier was awarded the title ‘Vaidyaratnam’ in 1933 for his praiseworthy achievements. Again, with impeccable foresight, he drafted a will converting AVS into a charitable trust. After his death in 1944, the will was adopted, with a board of seven trustees taking over the management of AVS.
Varier’s nephew P Madhava took over as managing trustee and chief physician, and introduced mechanisation of medicine processing. His brother, PK Varier, who took over after Madhava’s death in 1953, continued his efforts. PK Varier received the Padma Bhushan in 2010.
The hospital grew steadily in stature and by 1954, it had become the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, which operates as a charitable trust. Today, it is a world-famous institution with an ayurvedic hospital and research centre each at Kottakkal, Delhi and Kochi; 29 branch clinics; and about 1,600 authorised dealers across India. Medicines (covering about 550 ayurvedic formulations) for these hospitals are manufactured at three modern units — at Kottakkal, Kanjikode (set up in 1987) and Nanjangud (set up in 2010 for new generation formulations) — with in-house quality control labs. Bureau of Indian Standards specifications and ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia standards and procedures are strictly adhered to.
Keeping up with the times
The R&D section, begun in 1978, is today an approved testing lab with Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) accreditations. A publication department, started in 1987, comes out with books on ayurveda and a medical journal Aryavaidyan . Later developments include collaborations on research papers.
The R&D and quality assurance departments also engage in documenting procedures and standards of traditional formulations, which will be included in the Ayurvedic Pharmacopoeia of India. This includes concept studies like verifying the bio-activity of classical formulations, their clinical efficacy and the like.
At the manufacturing units, while the fundamental principles of production of ayurvedic medicines are strictly adhered to without compromising at any stage, efforts are made to render the medicines more user-friendly. Thus, all innovations have been made with patient compliance and acceptance in mind. A major breakthrough was made in 1988, when liquid kashayam (decoction) was converted into tablets with the aid of machines. This was followed by avaleha/ medicinal syrup as granules, bhasma /medicinal powder in capsule form and tailam /oil in balm, gel and capsule forms. All this has been possible due to extensive mechanisation of the three drug manufacturing units. This has also helped increase production.
Quality control
AVS products cover nine categories and are tested — apart from for quality — for heavy metal contamination. The Kottakkal factory produces about 60 per cent of the products.
Almost 70 per cent of AVS’ annual turnover is said to come from medicinal sales. Since 1964, all the income generated is directed back into the system, with the charitable hospital and AVS receiving 45 per cent each, and the college getting the remaining 10 per cent.
A unique feature of AVS is that it has an allopathic wing as well — for imparting lessons in anatomy, physiology and surgery. The patients are allowed to choose their mode of treatment. The allopathic medicines are bought from the market and distributed free of cost.
The Centre for Medicinal Plants Research, located at Kottakkal, was established in 2003 and is recognised by AYUSH. It focuses on protecting medicinal plants from biopiracy. It collaborates with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research on several research programmes.
AVS survived a scare in 1999 when ASEAN included neem in the Negative Ingredient List, which would have been a major blow as neem is an important ingredient in ayurvedic preparations. It also weathered a strike in 2013 to emerge even stronger.
Reusing and recycling
Despite the fact that AVS does not believe in brand building or marketing, and is strictly clinic-oriented, its name has become irrevocably associated with ayurveda. Its fame has spread through word-of-mouth endorsement, with many foreigners visiting Kerala for treatment here. All AVS products are available in overseas markets. It has a strong distribution network in Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, Germany, UAE and the USA, to name a few. Plans are afoot to enter other countries. There is no e-commerce facility yet.
AVS tries to do its bit for the environment by conserving ground water through setting up ponds, identifying new water sources, and recycling effluent water and using it for irrigation. Its Effluent Treatment Plant has won KSPCB awards. It also converts herbal residue into high-grade organic manure, which is used in its herbal gardens and even for producing fuel.