| Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal | |
|---|---|
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| Geography | |
| Location | Kottakkal,Malappuram,Kerala,IN |
| Coordinates | 10°59′50″N76°00′32″E / 10.99719°N 76.00895°E /10.99719; 76.00895 |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Private |
| Funding | Private |
| Type | Charitable Trust |
| Patron | P. S. Warrier |
| Services | |
| Beds | 330 |
| History | |
| Opened | 12 October 1902; 123 years ago (1902-10-12) |
| Links | |
| Website | Official web site |
Arya Vaidya Sala ('Holy Medical Campus'), popularly known asKottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, is a healthcare centre located inKottakkal, in the Indian state ofKerala, providing services under the Indian traditional medicine system ofAyurveda.[1]
Vaidyaratnam P. S. Varier, a scholar in whose honour theGovernment of India have issued a postage stamp,[2] founded Arya Vaidya Sala in 1902,[3] atKottakkal, a small town inMalappuram district, in the Indian state ofKerala. It began as a small clinic for outpatient treatment and sale of ayurvedic medicines.[4] Fifteen years later, Warrier established theArya Vaidya Patasala (School of Ayurvedic Medicine; more literally "holy medical school"), in the town ofKozhikode teaching under theGurukula method.[5] The school was shifted later to Kottakkal and has transformed itself into a Medical College,Vaidyaratnam P. S. Varier Ayurveda College, affiliated to theKerala University of Health Science.
Since 1944, when Warrier died, the clinic has been managed by the,Kottakkal Charitable Trust as per the provisions of hiswill.[1][3] Warrier was conferred the title ofVaidyaratnam (jewel among physicians) by the Government ofBritish India in 1933.[5]
After the death of P. S. Warrier, his nephew, P. Madhava Warrier (P. M. Warrier) took over the position as the Chief Physician and became the first Managing Trustee of the charitable trust in 1944.[3][4] He is reported to have modernized the institution and initiated many efforts for the growth of the institution.[3] Madhava Warrier died in an air crash in 1953[4] and the next head of the institution was his youngest brother,P. K. Warrier, a physician and the winner of the civilian award,Padmabhushan, who was the Managing Trustee and the Chief Physician.[6] After the death of P K Warrier, P Madavankutty Warrier took over the position as the Managing Trustee of the institution.
The Arya Vaidya Sala (AVS) group of institutions has its headquarters inKottakkal inMalappuram district, located 16 kilometers fromMalappuram and 48 kilometers fromKozhikode. Two of the hospitals run by the group are based at Kottakkal. The group consists of five hospitals of which one is a charitable centre,[7] 15 branches,[8] a research centre,[9] two medicine factories,[10] a Marketing Division overseeing over 1500 retail outlets,[11][12] and four herbal gardens.[13] The group is reported to be treating over 800,000 patients, through consultation and in patient services.[1][3] Arya Vaidya Sala provides readymade ayurvedic medicines and dispensing ayurvedic medicines in the form of pills.[5]
AVS group manages five hospitals with inpatient facilities with a total capacity of over 400 beds, three under the brand name ofAyurvedic Hospital and Research Centre (AH&RC) one under the name,Charitable Hospital and the fifth - a new Ayurvedic hospital at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.AH&RC Kottakkal, the flagship hospital, is based in Kottakkal, and has a capacity of 300 beds. Established in 1954, the hospital provides traditional Kerala preparatory therapies along with classicalpanchakarma treatment. It is known to be a referral hospital and the patient profile is multiethnic.[14]AH&RC Delhi is located at Karkardooma in East Delhi and is a 49 bedded facility.[15]AH&RC Kochi is situated inThrikkakkara while theAyurvedic Hospital Baddi is situated at Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, www.aryavaidyasalabaddi.com.
The Charitable Hospital, based in Kottakkal, was started in 1924 and offers free consultation and treatment to the financially compromised.[16] The hospital, which has a capacity of 140 beds, is composed ofPanchakarma, Poison treatment and clinical research wards, a surgical unit and a maternity home. The hospital claims that the free treatment provided by the hospital amounts toUS$ 900,000 annually. The unit is managed by the Ethical and the Research committees of Arya Vaidya Sala.[17]
Arya Vaidya Sala opened its research centre,Centre for Medicinal Plants Research (CMPR) in 2003, with financial assistance fromSir Dorabji Tata Trust. The centre is involved in the research on medicinal plants based ontaxonomy, tissue culture, genetic resources, phytochemistry,anatomy and extension activities and is equipped with aphytochemistry laboratory and atissue culture laboratory. The administration is handled from an administrative office block. The centre is located in Kottakkal and has ongoing research programmes in association with theCouncil of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of theGovernment of India.[9]
The group has manufacturing facilities at Kottakkal andKanjikode, nearPalakkad.[3] They are operated under license from theDrug Controller's office and has receivedGood Practices certification from theGovernment of Kerala. The units support the medicinal requirements of the hospitals run by the group as well as theover the counter sales at the retail outlets. The factories have in houseQuality Assessment departments to oversee the manufacturing processes and are certified by theBureau of Indian Standards.[10] The total turnover of the manufacturing units is reported to beUS$ 19 million.[1]
Of the four herbal gardens maintained by the group, two are located atMannarkkad, near Palakkad andThrikkakkara, inErnakulam[3] and together, they measure over 200 acres.[18] AVS has two more demonstration gardens of lesser areas at Kottakkal,[19] making the total area to 220 acres[20] and the gardens provide 44 varieties of herbs to the AVS factories.[5] The gardens permit research and studies to aspiring students which have precipitated several scientific papers and books. TheInternational Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada has collaborated on one of the projects,Medicinal Plants (India) Project.[19] Some of the notable works that came out of researches are:
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