lives and problems 103
nasyam, this was done on the head, like this. Th ey put medicine and wrapped
[referring either to the talapodichil “mudpack” treatment or the picchu oiling of
the head described in the previous chapter], and gave two types of medicine
mixed with yogurt at night.Th e purgative Sreedevi was given is one of the procedures that rids the
body of impurities (or “toxins” may be an appropriate biomedical translation)
at the beginning of the course of treatment known as panchakarma. Sreedevi
was also required to drink ghee in amounts that increase by one ounce every
day in order to lubricate the body for panchakarma therapy. Th e vasti Sreedevi’s
mother refers to is an enema, and nasyam is medicine that is administered
through the nose. Both of these are part of the panchakarma treatment. Th e
wrapping therapy Sreedevi’s mother refers to is talapodichil or picchu, or it may
be a reference to both. In these treatments, medicated mud in the case of
talapodichil or oil in the case of picchu is applied to the top of the head, which
is wrapped with a banana leaf or cloth to hold the medicine in place. Several of
these procedures are reported by patients of ayurveda to provide aesthetically
pleasant, “cooling” eff ects. Biju then moved on to a question that was included
in order to discern whether patients became aware of diff erent symptoms after
changing therapies. Th is did not provide any insights into the suggestive power
of diff erent therapies to cause patients to attend to diff erent symptoms as I had
hoped it might, but it did get people to elaborate on whether there were any
changes in the patient’s illness:
Biju: Are there any new symptoms since we last spoke?Mother: Nothing new. Still, when talking, suddenly words, a blockage... they
don’t come out naturally.Biju: Do you have any new ideas about your problem? Do you have any sort of
new ideas about your problem? Do you have any idea about the reason it began?
Anything in particular?Mother: I don’t have anything in particular. I had scolded her a little for not
studying. She didn’t study in a good manner. She hasn’t studied well. She will
sleep lying face down. I have scolded her when she shows laziness and all. I don’t
know whether that made her “feel.”As to whether there were any new ideas about the origin of Sreedevi’s trou-
bles, her mother wonders whether she scolded her too much about her studies,
again raising concerns about educational success. Also, Sreedevi’s mother uses