By Team Ayurved Sutra
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Ayurveda doyen PR Krishna Kumar is no more!
P.R. Krishnakumar, managing director of the Arya Vaidya Pharmacy died of Covid-19 in Coimbatore, last Wednesday, September, 16th.Known for his kindness, expertise and inspiring personality PR K was Chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women, Coimbatore. He was 69.
“P.R. Krishna Kumar’s persistent, enterprising and mission-mode efforts contributed to Ayurveda’s global popularity. He was an extremely humble and knowledgeable person. Pained by his demise. Condolences to his family. Om Shanti,” PM office tweeted
Taking charge of Arya Vaidya Pharmacy (Coimbatore) Limited after the demise of his father P.V. Rama Varier, Krishnakumar took on propagation of the alternative system of medicine as his life mission and remained a bachelor. The Hindu wrote, he was epitome of kindness and generosity. A recipient of Padma Shri, who played a major role in the preparation of the Ayush protocol, Krishnakumar was undergoing treatment for COVID-19 in a private hospital in Coimbatore for over a week.
About his early life, New Indian Express reported, Krishnakumar studied Ayurveda at Shoranur Ayurveda College in Kerala and devoted his life to promoting Ayurveda. He established an institute by the name of AVP Research Foundation (AVPRF) to conduct clinical, literary, field, and drug researches and to train aspiring ayurvedic scholars.AVPRF launched the RUDRA clinical documentation program in 2003 to promote practice-based evidence in the field of Ayurveda.
The Hindu reports, while the AVP hospital campus in Coimbatore and the manufacturing facility at Kanjikode in Kerala were started by his father P.V. Rama Varier, Krishnakumar started an Ayurvedic college at Patanjalipuri at Mangarai in Coimbatore rural in 1978. Seven batches of students got trained in Ayurveda free of cost at the centre which functioned as per the gurukula model.His colleague K.G. Raveendran recalled how, once having met a hungry old man waiting for prasadam from the Dhanwanthari Temple on his Ayurveda hospital campus in Coimbatore, Krishnakumar ensured that he was fed immediately. And since then, he also arranged for free annadanam even in the evenings, apart from the lunch that was already being served.
In an interview with Ayurved Sutra (Vol.3Issue8-9/2016) PR Krishna Kumar discussed in detail about the importance of Ayurveda and its connection with youth. SHRADDHANJALI.
