Palmists, card readers, practitioners of Unani medicine and ear cleaners professing to cure ailments were encountered by the then young Dr Farokh Udwadia on Elphinstone Bridge while he walked from the railway station to his alma mater, King Edward Memorial Hospital in Parel. When he questioned one of them about the efficacy of his treatments, he was told that to find out he would have to visit the roadside practitioner if he had a earache! The eminent doctor, now a nonagenarian who has written six books, including Tabiyat: Medicine and Healing in India and Other Essays (see "Health and history,” Books, Parsiana, June 21, 2018), was setting the tone for his talk "Tabiyat: Medicine and healing in India.”
This was the 25th Karl Khandalavala Memorial Lecture organized by the Prince of Wales Museum, now Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, and the Museum Society of Mumbai (MSM) on November 8, 2023. Art connoisseur, lawyer and author of books on Indian art, Khandalavala (1904-1995) had been chairman of the Museum’s board of trustees for 33 years. The venue at the Museum lawns had to be abandoned due to unseasonal rain and the talk was instead shifted to a packed gallery on the first floor.
Charaka
Photo public domain, Wellcome Collection
Dr Farokh Udwadia: expounding on Ayurveda; Inset: Karl Khandalavala
Citing references from history, religious texts, oral sources and others, the multifaceted physician elaborated on areas where Ayurveda excelled, its failings and his recommendations on what practitioners could do.
Dhanvantari, physician to the gods, generally believed to be the father of Ayurveda, was thought to have come out of a sea of milk and later incarnated as a prince of Benares. "I like legends… They add color to the pages of history,” Udwadia stated.
The roots of Ayurveda were in the ascetic milieu of the Buddhist age of the fifth-sixth century BC, stated Udwadia. The tomes Charaka Samhita by a physician, Charaka, and Sushruta Samhita by surgeon Sushruta are the pillars of Ayurveda. The Sushruta Samhita became known during the Buddhist period. Reportedly a great teacher, Sushruta was an expert in cataract surgery, a skill that spread to south east Asia via Buddhist monks. Another area of expertise was the removal of stones from internal organs and of dead fetuses from the womb. "Westerners became aware of Ayurveda when the practice of rhinoplasty (alterations of the nose), observed by two Britishers, was published in a gentleman’s magazine. "Though why they did not give it to (general medical journal) The Lancet, amazes me,” he smilingly quipped.
Top: "Come to me when you have a earache;” above: rhinoplasty as practiced in Ayurveda
Appreciating that Ayurveda believes that all living beings are connected and that our survival depends on a balance between man and nature, Udwadia reiterated that this is a core premise of Zoroastrianism as well. Also, Ayurveda preaches harmony between mind, body and soul as well as with the environment and fellow human beings.
Ayurveda crossed geographical boundaries, stated the doctor, referring to texts in Burmese and Nepali. During the Abbasid period, there were many practitioners in Persia. It was even known to be practiced in Italy and Sicily, but it went into a decline in the Renaissance period. "There were no discoveries, no therapeutic advances… It was very disheartening.”
Refuting that Ayurveda is a science, Udwadia explained that "there is no quantification, no verification, no experimentation” in the practice. Also, as time went by, the theories became fossilized. "But it was a great system… It relied on empirical evidence… Definitely not to be laughed at.” For practitioners of Ayurveda, he recommended the "development of a scientific temperament.”
The doctor contended that successful treatment is not the sole arbiter of health. Good health requires better public health facilities, sanitation, habitation, nutrition and education. "Improvements in living standards, an advancing economy and an improved social environment are needed for physical, mental and social wellbeing.”
A philosophy of Ayurveda that modern western medicine could adopt is "suffering is in the mind or body or spirit,” recommended Udwadia.
Passing references were made to other Indian medical systems. Unani, the system of Greek medicine that was introduced to India by the Arabs reached its heyday during the 300 years of Mughal rule, stated Udwadia. Folk medicine, with its roots in magic has been practiced ever since homo sapiens walked the earth.
Paying homage "with a certain amount of nostalgia” to Khandalavala, Udwadia recalled having treated him when he was a "very junior doctor” at The B. D. Petit Parsee General Hospital. Describing him as a Renaissance scholar, Udwadia lauded Khandalavala’s interest in "all forms of art of this country… He mastered them all… He made himself one of the great art collectors and art historians of India.”
Reminiscing about her early years in the world of art, MSM chairperson Dr Pheroza Godrej narrated: "We sat at (Khandalavala’s) feet and laughed at his stories.” She made mention of his 60 scientific papers and over six books on art.
A film on Khandalavala’s life and times preceded the talk, with a welcome address from the Museum’s director general Sabyasachi Mukherjee who spoke about his association with the expert on Indian art.