lives and problems 99
the variations of human experience than hoping to fi nd in the nonwestern
subject an embodied alternative to the prioritizing of the mind in Western
phenomenology.
At the time of this interview, Sreedevi was continuing to take an allopathic
medicine called Hexidol while undergoing ayurvedic treatment. Hexidol is
a combination of haloperidol and benzhexol hydrochloride, which is nor-
mally given to people allopathic psychiatrists consider schizophrenic. We did
not investigate Sreedevi’s allopathic medical history in detail, but Biju and I
were surprised that she was given this drug as she seemed primarily quiet and
depressed, more neurotic than psychotic, or in ayurvedic terms, more kaphot-
madic than pittotmadic. Sreedevi’s ayurvedic therapist was planning to take her
off this drug, but he was doing so gradually.
In response to our question as to whether Sreedevi and her mother agree
with how current and previous healers understand her problem, Sreedevi’s
mother explained that they feel that both the allopathic and the ayurvedic
doctors had the same view. Similarly, other informants told us that they agreed
with the points of view of all previous healers. It was rarely perspective, belief
in a system or conviction about what constituted a “correct” understanding of
illness that determined choice of therapy. It was thus more likely the promise
of a safer treatment, one that has fewer side eff ects as she claims, rather than
a particular belief in ayurveda that led Sreedevi and her mother to switch to
ayurvedic therapy.
With Kerala’s highly literate population, many ill people and their families
learn about various therapies by reading the numerous articles and advice col-
umns on medical issues that appear in newspapers and magazines. Likewise,
Sreedevi’s mother says she learned about ayurvedic psychiatric treatment after
reading about it in a newspaper.
Sreedevi’s mother then considered the possibility that her daughter’s prob-
lems may have been aff ected by a failed attempt to arrange a marriage with a
young man from their neighborhood whom Sreedevi liked. From her descrip-
tion, it is unclear whether it was Sreedevi’s mother (her father is deceased) or
the boy’s family that did not agree with the marriage proposal. Getting mar-
ried or fi nding the right marriage partner, which involves developing relations
between families as much as between the individuals getting married, is a major
preoccupation among families in Kerala as well as throughout India. It is a
constant subject of conversation and the topic of innumerable Malayalam and
Hindi fi lms. According to her mother, failed marriage arrangements related to
the onset—but were not the only cause—of Sreedevi’s problems:
Biju: Do you think the main reason behind this problem is “marriage?”