00:00I hail from Kerala. It's a small village, you know, named Uchira.
00:06Actually, my parents both were government servants, you know, my mom was a teacher.
00:11My father, you know, I mean, he was into the health services.
00:17The advantage, you know, what I got during my school days, being brought up in a village,
00:24you know, I got the time to exposure to the nature.
00:27And secondly, my family, you know, they were strong followers of a healthy traditional practice.
00:33So, after my BAMS, I got an opportunity to work with Coimbatore Ayurvedic Trust,
00:40the late, you know, Padmasree Krishnakumarji.
00:43You know, that gave me an opportunity to look at this profession in a more serious way.
00:49I worked there only for six months, you know, but he was a mentor for me.
00:52And I got my admission for MD in Ayurveda.
00:59My MD was in the speciality of the surgical aspects of Ayurveda.
01:04So, it was for three years.
01:06So, it was altogether eight and a half years of Ayurvedic studies in the college.
01:11And during that time, I used to do a part-time practice in the Ashok Hotel,
01:20which belongs to Indian Tourism Development Corporation at that time.
01:24There I used to get a lot of PR and contacts with so many people.
01:30So, immediately after my MD, I got an opportunity to work in a hotel, which is owned by Kempinski.
01:39I was in a dilemma at that time, because my parents were insisting me to
01:43take a government job after the MD.
01:46But I found those jobs a little monotonous.
01:50And maybe in my 20s, I was in a zeal to explore outside India, to see what can I see around.
01:58So, I left the government job part aside and came to UAE.
02:01I feel I was at the right time in UAE,
02:04because there was a transformation happening in the healthcare delivery system.
02:09In UAE or the entire Middle East or the entire globe,
02:13because as a part of globalization, Ayurveda was getting popular across the globe.
02:18So, I feel I was at the right time.
02:20And I made use of that opportunity, which I had, which God has given me.
02:27So, Ayurveda got recognized in the country in 2002,
02:33under the Department of Traditional Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
02:38And I got my first license to practice Ayurveda in the country in 2002.
02:44In May.
02:45So, still thereafter, I was on the platform of Kempinski.
02:50I worked with Kempinski for almost 10 years.
02:53I opened and operated several luxury Ayurvedic clinics.
03:00Even though it was a hotel, we had taken an Ayurveda clinic license inside the hotel,
03:05since it was my vision.
03:06And in addition to that, being passed out from a business school after my MD,
03:13I did my business management from BITS Pilani.
03:17I wanted to explore, you know, or promote Ayurveda in the other countries also.
03:22So, I opened Ayurvedic clinics in Malaysia,
03:28opened Ayurvedic clinics in Nigeria, or in Djibouti, or in Morocco.
03:34Now, you know, I have opened two Ayurvedic clinics in Egypt.
03:38So, I tried to take, you know, the message of Ayurveda across the globe.
03:42And of course, you know, both perspective has to be met.
03:46The pure and real Ayurveda has to be propagated.
03:49But at the same time, you know, the business needs has to be met at the same time.
03:56And the other thing which I forgot mentioning is about the Ayurveda and the insurance.
04:05Most of the insurance companies in the UAE, they recognize Ayurveda as a medical system.
04:10And most of these therapies are reimbursed.
04:14If it is prescribed by a licensed medical doctor,
04:17and if it is performed by a licensed therapist for a specific disease condition,
04:21it is being covered by the medical insurance companies.
04:25Now, there is a very important declaration by the Dubai Health Authority also,
04:29that even the basic insurances for the blue-collar workers, they should cover Ayurveda.
04:35And we are looking forward to the implementation of the same thing.
04:39I have worked in almost, you know, 20 countries with Ayurveda,
04:43India, Middle East, Far East, Europe.
04:47But I haven't seen, you know, such an acceptance of Ayurveda
04:51in any other countries other than UAE.
04:54There could be several reasons for that.
04:56Whatever, you know, I'm very thankful, you know, to the rulers and the policymakers of UAE
05:02for accepting, you know, such a traditional wisdom,
05:05such an age-old traditional wisdom for the benefits of the mankind in the UAE.
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