Ancient Hindu Therapy a Business Opportunity for India

[Guest guest]

MUMBAI (March 12, 2007, Reuters): Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu healing

method, has seen a resurgence as India vies for a share of the

lucrative Asian medical tourism market by offering traditional

massages and beauty treatments to wealthy tourists.

 

Past the glass doors of the spa at Indian Hotels' Taj Wellington Mews,

is a softly lit ayurveda room with a brass-edged, wooden treatment

platform dotted with flowers.

 

In the corner is an idol of Dhanavantari, the Hindu god of health,

garlanded with flowers and lit by an oil lamp.

 

Therapists in cotton sarees pray to Dhanavantari before each ayurveda

session, from a basic head massage to an intense detox scrub and wrap,

that can last from 45 minutes to five-and-a-half hours and are priced

at 950 rupees to 10,000 rupees.

 

" We get a mix of people: those that are familiar with ayurveda, as

well as those who are just curious and want to give it a try, " said

Silvia Mot, manager at the Taj spa in Mumbai.

 

Ayurveda ('ayu' means life and 'veda' knowledge in Sanskrit) is an

ancient Hindu system of holistic healing with herbs, metals and

minerals that are believed to have therapeutic benefits.

 

Traditional practitioners have always abounded, and now a growing

interest in natural therapies is boosting ancient methods like

ayurveda, homeopathy and siddha, which uses minerals.

 

Also, India, like Thailand, Singapore and other countries in the

region, is pushing for a share of Asia's medical tourism market which

is forecast to grow almost four times in value to $2.3 billion by 2012.

 

The push is coming via luxury hospitals for foreigners and wealthy

locals staffed by highly-trained doctors such as Apollo Hospitals,

which offers low priced surgeries -- from cardiac to plastic -- along

with guided tours.

 

But the revival of more traditional remedies through treatment centres

and beauty products is also seen as a potentially lucrative drawcard

for tourists as well as locals becoming increasingly affluent from

India's economic transition.

 

Pharmacies and shops carry a range of over-the-counter herbal and

ayurvedic products containing combinations of herbs, spices, flowers

and fruits such as saffron, basil and green apple.

 

Their products -- ranging from face packs to throat lozenges and

medications to treat hair loss, diabetes and skin disease -- generate

a big chunk of the estimated $200 to $300 million alternative therapy

market in India's burgeoning beauty industry.

 

MYTH TO MODERN

 

Ayurveda combines religion and philosophy with science to bring

balance to the three doshas -- vata, pitta and kapha -- elements of

the human body similar to the Latin humours.

 

Ayurveda's origins are rooted in mythology and religious texts. The

Hindu god of creation, Brahma, regarded as the fount of knowledge, is

believed to have passed on knowledge of ayurveda to Daksh Prajapati,

the father of goddess Parvati.

 

Another legend has it that sage Bharadwaj went to heaven to seek

knowledge. Ayurveda texts, written by ancient physicians dating back

more than 2,000 years, are still followed by practitioners.

 

The practice can also be traced to Atharva Veda, a sacred Hindu text.

Passed on by sages, it was developed into a school of medicine with

eight specialities, including paediatrics and psychiatry, and taught

in the ancient universities of Takshila and Nalanda.

 

Ayurveda declined with the growth of modern medicine during the

British rule but it is thriving again, particularly in Kerala and

Tamil Nadu in the south where home medicine chests contain ayurvedic

pain balms and digestives alongside modern medications.

 

India has even contested a move by some Western companies to patent

the use and healing properties of herbs like neem, tumeric and

" ashwagandha " or Indian ginseng, which are used from everything from

treating acne and wounds to aiding digestion.

 

The modern Indian market for alternative therapies is estimated at

$200-$300 million, and is dominated by hundreds of traditional

practitioners and small firms that peddle creams, syrups and pills in

unmarked jars or wrapped in paper.

 

Analysts say premium ayurvedic and herbal products can grow quickly,

helped by specialty stores and spas and large firms.

 

Lever, which picked ayurveda as a new growth engine, has more than 40

Ayush ayurveda centres that offer ayurveda therapies, yoga and

meditation classes and is adding two more every month.

 

" Especially at the top end, consumers are concerned about issues such

as hygiene and safety, and are more trusting of well-known companies, "

said the Lever spokesman.

 

There have been warnings in North America and Britain about the high

content of heavy metals such as lead, mercury and arsenic in ayurvedic

products, which are not as strictly controlled as Western medicines.

 

Still, foreign firms are keen to get a foothold in the market as

interest grows in Eastern philosophies and treatments.

 

L'Oreal recently said it was looking to buy a small Indian ayurveda

brand to launch a worldwide foray in ayurveda.

 

But Milind Sarwate, chief financial officer of consumer goods maker

Marico, which owns the premium Sundari ayurvedic line in the United

States, said it may be hard to apply Western standards and quality

control to these traditional therapies and their natural ingredients.

 

" You can't put a barcode on every amla (gooseberry) or ensure

standards of every root from a Jharkhand forest. "

 

SOURCE: © Reuters 2007. . FEATURE - Ancient Hindu

therapy, a business opportunity for India. Mon Mar 12, 2007 8:11 AM.

By Rina Chandran

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