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Kalari Kovilakom is also referred as the Palace of Ayurveda - perhaps the first and only one of its kind. Its face is the face of the warrior-king, elegant and expansive. But its heart is that of a sage, offering a deep healing, a doorway to the union of the mind, body and spirit. If the old legends are to be believed, healing is part of Kalari's very soul. Stories are told of a Prince who came to the foothills of Kerala's Annamalai Hills around the 10th century. It seems he was afflicted with a particularly troublesome skin ailment. So he came to cure himself in the healing spring waters of this land. Possibly, he also sought the medicinal Venga tree that grew here in profusion. Dharmavarman stayed on to found a kingdom, Vengunad, 'The Land of the Venga Tree'. And for all the days to come, his descendants held sway over these silent and green foothills. It was in the 19th century that they built Kalari Kovilakom. At Kalari, every therapy is personal. The treatments are customised for each individual by the doctors, who combine it with yoga and other methods to provide deep healing from within and without. Every treatment is based on specific body needs and the ayurvedic body type. Even the food one is served is individual, with health drinks and herbal preparations that vary with treatment. The result is nothing less than a return to the womb. There are no game rooms, no shopping expeditions, no television sets. The evenings are alive with chanting and hymns, unsullied by the sounds of the city. In fact, apart from these post-dinner gatherings where guests and staff alike participate, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, to disturb one's new-found inner silence. |
