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Gita Ramesh launched the first Kairali Ayurvedic Centre in New Delhi in 1989 followed by ayureda resort Kairali – The Ayurvedic Healing Village at Palakkad, Kerala in 1999. Today the company under its umbrella has over thirty centres spread in India and abroad.
Our family has long ayurveda tradition, but The Kairali Ayurvedic Group was established in 1989, when we opened the first ayurveda center in Delhi. We pioneered in setting up the center, at a time when ayurveda was nearly fading away and people of India also was not aware of subject, what is ayurveda.
Way back, our forefathers had given us this knowledge and it has percolated down through centuries through our family. We used to do manufacturing of ayurveda products, which were researched and developed from the year 1948. With very good results, we have introduced into the market products such as Lipidex, Durance, Duravin Forte, Spaliv or Spazyme.
After 1989, when we set up the center in Delhi and offered these services to mankind and the people at large in and around Delhi and successfully completing about almost a decade, we ventured into starting The Ayurvedic Healing Village in Palakkad, the hometown of Ayurveda. This is a most serene place where you could come and relax, revive and rejuvenate yourself by ayurvedic therapies. As ayurveda says, you have to take care of your body so that you will live healthy and keep your body healthy. The preventive aspect of ayurveda is promoted a lot over here, besides also offering treatments for various diseases.
GITA RAMESH, Founder and Joint Managing Director of Kairali Ayurvedic Group. She holds Bachelor in Alternate Systems of Medicine & Surgery and Master degree in Biochemistry. Hailing from a family of acclaimed Vaidiyas , together with her husband Mr. K. V. Ramesh carried forward the legacy of ayurveda through Kairali brand. She launched the first "Kairali Ayurvedic Centre" in New Delhi in 1989 followed by an ayurveda resort and retreat "Kairali – The Ayurvedic Healing Village" opened in 1999. Today the company under its umbrella has over thirty centres spread in India and abroad and provides employment to over 700 employees in 35 locations across 10 countries. In 2017 during the 7th Annual Women Leaders Conference in India, she was awarded as "The Leading Women in Ayurveda".
She has authored two books “Ayurvedic Herbal Massages” and “The Ayurvedic Cookbook”.
You could say that right from childhood, ayurveda was part of my personal journey. My mom used to give me lehas or churnams whenever we were not well or sick. During the seasonal changes, even if we were not sick, she gave us something to strengthen our immunity system, build our body and live healthy. All this was part of my childhood, but only after I got married to my husband Ramesh, ayurveda become more important to me. His family was manufacturing the ayurvedic medicines and for me, being a biochemist, it was very easy to correlate with these products.
It started with manufacturing of the products, but when we realized that ayurveda was a treasure that was going away from India, we have decided to move to Delhi and to pioneer services in the field of ayurveda. As I have mentioned, my husband and me, we have established the first Ayurveda center in Delhi in 1989. Our first guests, they themselves did not know what ayurveda was. Literarily we had to teach them what ayurveda was. The people, who visited us, understood the benefits of the treatments and craved a lot about all that we were doing. But despite the good feedback, it took us almost 10 years to establish ourselves in Delhi.
Ayurveda for me is a lifestyle. You have to live it. It is an everyday affair with your life to prevent yourself from falling sick. We should practise the norms of ayurveda – dinacharyas. It means you do your daily routine: get up in the morning, shower, brush your teeth, clean your tongue, put a little bit of oils into your nostrils, ears, take a nice simple massage. You don't have to spend much time but yet, it relaxes you and makes you feel very good.
Kerala is consider the home of ayurveda, because when compared to other Indian states, it has never lost its connection with ayurveda. Other states, specially northern part of India, were invaded by other nations, which brought their own culture and healing systems. But the ayurvedic tradition of Kerala was kept almost untouched. It was lifestyle and part of the practices in every family, passing down to generations. Kerala retained in its pristine form the ayurveda as it was written in the ancient texts. That's why we say, that Kerala is a cradle of ayurveda, although it is connected with healing traditions of whole India.
Those days, there were no colleges or any institutes where ayurveda was taught. Ayurveda, we could say, was something given to us by God, brought to people by Charaka Samhita and Sushruta Samhita. It was not noted in the manuscripts from which one could learn, just handed over from one person, from the father to the son or other member of the family.
In the past, you have started learning ayurveda from a very tender age along with your parents or the people who were practicing it in the family. You’ve been studying it throughout your life, from the time you were born until you started practicing on your own. That's the difference between Vaidiyas and nowadays doctors who just learned ayurvedic practices from the texts in a few years, and they think they have become a very good doctor.
We have chosen to build Kairali Ayurvedic Healing Village in Palakkad, because it is considered hometown of ayurveda and also my husband's family. Surrounded by the Western Ghats, geographically, it is ideal place for practising ayurveda. Resort is situated in the middle of the paddy fields, with rich flora and fauna and its pure pollution free environment and fresh air is much better for ayurveda healing, than salty sea air on the beaches.
The roots of our family belong to Palakkad and that's the reason why it made us even more comfortable to come and start an ayurveda resort here. The contour of the property was left as it was, as the flow of the life - up and down. And also the flow of the water in front of every cottages was designed to give a very peaceful and a meditating feeling of mind, which relaxes you completely.
We have built 30 cottages according to Vastu Shastra (India version of Feng Shui) and every cottage was named after a Nakshatra (Star in Vedic Astrology). In every room was placed sacred conch shell which gives a positive vibrations. We planted trees and herbs in and around the cottages. The very air that you breathe itself has a very curative effect. Also diet was a very important aspect. The kitchen was designed to prepare ayurveda food, that people could come and eat easily digestible food and which would have helped them in getting their diseases cured or even just rejuvenating or relaxing themselves.
This whole property was kept with the norms of ayurveda and the whole place is just ayurveda and nothing else.
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Read next chapter of THE TALK WITH GITA RAMESH >>
She is heart and soul behind the Kairali Group since its inception. Her status as a pioneer in the health and travel industry is reflected in award "Best Woman Entrepreneur for Promoting Wellness, 2010".
Founder & Director of Ayurveda Trails, healing collection of (extra)ordinary people and their stories, whose experiences are transferred into various trails shared by travelers.
He asks, why is all the rum gone. He is searching the stillness in the flow of the water and finding out, that there is no dark side of the moon really. Matter of fact it's all dark!
Launched the first ayurvedic centre in New Delhi in 1989 followed by The Ayurvedic Healing Village at Palakkad, Kerala in 1999. Today the company under its umbrella has over thirty centres in India and abroad.
VISHU FESTIVAL
NEW YEAR IN KERALA
The Malayalam word kani literally means that which is seen first. The traditional belief is that one's future is a function of what one experiences, that the New Year will be better if one views auspicious joyful things as the first thing on Vishu.
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Ayurveda trails is using the symbol of mudra as reminder, healing is in your hands. We are creating a small collection of highly specialised ayurveda resorts run by passionate ayurveda experts, who want to keep authentic healing knowledge for modern world.
What is ayurveda? How is this ancient medical system connected with yoga, meditation, healthy food, relaxation in nature and modern life style? Ayurveda Trails is dedicated to everyone, who would like to travel and search answers to these questions.
NAVARATRI
Festival of Nine Goddesses
Navaratri is a nine night festival that honors the Mother Goddess in all her manifestations. The worship, accompanied by fasting, takes place in the mornings. Evenings are for feasting and dancing. Each day has a different ritual associated with it.
ONAM
The Harvest Festival in Kerala
Onam is the most popular festival in Kerala. It can be traced to the primitive harvest festival and also to the myth regarding King Mahabali - the benevolent asura ruler who brought peace and prosperity to his country. It is celebrated in August and September.
The importance of the feast to the Kerala's Onam celebration culture is captured in the famous Malayalam proverb: Kaanam Vittum Onam Unnanam - which means: One must have the Onam lunch even by selling one's property, if need be.
MANALTHEERAM AYURVEDA BEACH VILLAGE
Manaltheeram Ayurveda Beach Village, gives you an opportunity to pamper yourself with a heavenly experience. Enter the world of holistic healing and let Ayurveda and meditation restore your physical, mental, spiritual and emotional equilibrium.
MANALTHEERAM
Dr. Hemalatha Manoj
In Manaltheeram, we believe, that Ayurveda is a divine science of life, our hands should be pure to treat a patient. Sometimes we are not able to cure every one but it is important not to make any mistakes from our hands. We pray to God.
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Dr. Sri Kumar
Harivihar, abode of the divine, is a 170 year old painstakingly restored royal heritage homestead located in Calicut. It offers unparalleled experience of staying in a heritage ambience and benefit from the goodness of Ayurveda and Yoga, two great contributions of India to mankind.
I hesitated for publishing this story quite late, but there’s a beauty in rewinding. Makes me appreciate how all those days have become of me. The clever fall of dominoes of life events that led me to still standing. A very happy new year to all!
SwaSwara means your inner voice, this is a place of natural harmony to release, refocus and recalibrate the self. Inspired by the first sound of creation, the resort in Gokarana on Aum Beach is a perfect setting to enable one to hear the voice of the inner self.
Green gram is a powerhouse of nutrition. It has high nutritive value and can be consumed by anyone for improving health. Hence, this superfood is one of the most vital detoxifying agent as well as an energiser that helps to enhance the immunity of the body.
KAIRALI - THE AYURVEDIC HEALING VILLAGE
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