A Mouthful of Good Health

How two carnivores survived on a guilt-free vegetarian diet in the heartland of Ayurveda

- Gustasp and Jeroo Irani

We tucked in to a bowl of clear vegetable soup, followed by beetroot and spinach salad jazzed up with orange juice dressing, and then cauliflower and peas with a subtle carrot sauce as a dip for dinner. Delicious! We salivated for more. As one of the waitstaff cleared our plates, we asked, “What’s next?”

“That’s it,” he responded with a poker face.

At that point we knew how Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens’ hero in the novel by the same name, might have felt when he said, “Please sir, I want some more.”

This was far from Victorian England however. We were at Kalari Rasayana, an Ayurvedic Hospital recognized by the prestigious NABH (National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers). Located in South Paravur, Kollam, Kerala, the hospital is owned and run by the wellness wing of CGH Earth, one of the pioneers in sustainable tourism in India.

At Kalari Rasayana, Ayurveda is taken seriously. From here, many a wheelchair-bound patient leaves unassisted, head held high after a month’s treatment (or longer), we were told. Here, a patient is viewed through a multi-lens of food, lifestyle and outlook; essentially, how a person ‘digests life’ and copes with his or her inner or outer worlds. A healthy diet is one of the pillars of Ayurveda and at authentic Ayurvedic hospitals like Kalari Rasayana, the food plan, therapies and yoga regimen are prescribed and customized for every guest by the vaid (Ayurvedic doctor).

We were two carnivores fighting a losing battle—our hopeless addiction to an unhealthy meaty diet, glazed with dollops of oil or rich cream, tongue-singeing fish curries and saccharine-sweet desserts. Hoping to get our slightly elevated cholesterol, blood sugar and stress levels under control, we decided to sign up.