Kerala’s Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda Museum: A must-visit for students of Ayurveda

The Vaidyaratnam Ayurveda museum showcases classical treatment procedures. Initiatives to preserve and develop those methods for future generations have been well documented. The museum, one of the first of its kind in the country, is a tribute to ET Neelakandhan Moos, the founder of Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala, an Ayurveda pharmaceutical company. Members of the Thaikkattu Moos family were renowned Ashtavaidyas (Proficient in all the eight branches of Ayurveda) who popularized Ayurveda in Kerala. The museum is housed in the same building, a mansion built in authentic Kerala architectural style in the first half of the last century that Vaidyaratnam Oushadhasala took shape in 1941.

In front of the main building of the museum, a huge sculpture of Dhanwanthari, the god of Ayurveda, has been erected. A tour of the museum starts from a digital theatre called Natyagruham, where audio-visual shows and presentations on various topics in Ayurveda are screened. The main section of the museum narrates the story of the evolution of Ayurveda, the ancient surgical practices and tools, a gallery and a collection of specimens of 300 medicinal plants along with their properties. There is a 3D section. For bibliophiles, there is a library packed with a vast collection of ancient literature, scriptures and manuscripts from traditional Ayurveda, including the ones used by the Ashtavaidyas. A digital library with a neat collection of CDs completes the tour of the museum. In the landscaped premises outside the museum, the sculptures of various Ayurveda gurus have been done in detail.

Vaidyaratnam now has turned its attention to developing the Thaikkattussery village into an Ayurveda hotbed. The company has already developed an herbal garden with nearly 300 rare medicinal plants in the museum premises set up with the financial help of the Ministry of AYUSH. The medicine manufacturing plant was started in 1941 while the nursing home was launched in 1955. It later started two more medicine units, one in Chuvannamannu, and another at Pollachi in Tamil Nadu. Vaidyaratnam also runs an Ayurveda college in the region. Vaidyaratnam is looking to hear suggestions from the public, other experts of Ayurveda and study the facilities in other museums and expand the museum to provide a peep into the future developments in Ayurveda. The museum has been getting steady stream of researchers and students. Vaidyaratnam is currently engaged in a research project to check the efficacy and safety of the treatment procedures with respect to five ailments and to develop treatment protocols. It is also planning to expand to new centers in the country like New Delhi, Kolkata and Gujarat.

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