Hindu way of healing works

Ayurveda, an ancient Hindu healing method, has seen a resurgence as India vies for a share of the lucrative Asian medical tourism market by offering traditional massages and beauty treatments to wealthy tourists.

Past the glass doors of the spa at Indian Hotels' Taj Wellington Mews in Mumbai is a softly lit ayurveda room with a brass-edged, wooden treatment platform dotted with flowers.

In the corner is an idol of Dhanavantari, the Hindu god of health, garlanded with flowers and lit by an oil lamp. Therapists in cotton saris pray to Dhanavantari before each ayurveda session, from a basic head massage to an intense detox scrub and wrap, that can last from 45 minutes to five-and-a-half hours and are priced at 950 rupees to 10,000 rupees.

Ayurveda (`ayu' means life and `veda' knowledge in Sanskrit) is an ancient Hindu system of holistic healing with herbs, metals and minerals that are believed to have therapeutic benefits.

India, like Thailand, Singapore and other countries in the region, is pushing for a share of Asia's medical tourism market which is forecast to grow almost four times in value to C$2.8 billion by 2012.  The push is coming via luxury hospitals for foreigners and wealthy locals staffed by highly-trained doctors such as Apollo Hospitals, which offers low priced surgeries - from cardiac to plastic - along with guided tours.

But the revival of more traditional remedies through treatment centers and beauty products is also seen as a potentially lucrative drawcard for tourists as well as locals becoming increasingly affluent from India's economic transition.

Pharmacies and shops carry a range of over-the-counter herbal and ayurvedic products containing combinations of herbs, spices, flowers and fruits.

Their products - ranging from face packs to throat lozenges and medications to treat hair loss, diabetes and skin disease - generate a big chunk of the estimated US$200 million to US$300 million alternative therapy market in India's beauty industry.

The modern Indian market for alternative therapies is dominated by hundreds of traditional practitioners and small firms that peddle creams, syrups and pills in unmarked jars or wrapped in paper. Lever, which picked ayurveda as a new growth engine, has more than 40 Ayush ayurveda centers that offer therapies, yoga and meditation classes and is adding two more every month.

"Especially at the top end, consumers are concerned about issues such as hygiene and safety, and are more trusting of well-known companies," a Lever spokesman said. L'Oreal recently said it was looking to buy a small Indian brand to launch a worldwide foray in ayurveda.

But Milind Sarwate, chief financial officer of Marico, which owns the Sundari ayurvedic line in the United States, said it may be hard to apply Western standards and quality control to these traditional therapies and their natural ingredients.