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1 Introduction
When I met “Ajit” in an ayurvedic hospital in Kerala, India, he had already
tried two of the most popular therapies for mental illness. Seeking relief from
emotional distress, sleeplessness and violent outbursts, he underwent the
medicated mudpack treatments of ayurvedic psychiatry, which is based on the
South Asian system of medical practices known as ayurveda. He had also used
the psychoactive pharmaceuticals of Western biomedical psychiatry, which is
known in India as “allopathy” or, in a phrase evocative of allopathy’s colonial
origins, “English medicine.” Ajit had not visited any of the religious sites that
are also reputed as healing centers for people with mental health problems, but
the young man had recently participated in a pilgrimage, which he feels helped
him achieve some mental peace.
During our fi rst encounter Ajit off ered an impassioned discourse on the
ideals and practices of ayurvedic and allopathic medicine in the changing con-
text of health in “modern society”:^1
In the case of allopathic doctors, after asking two or three questions, they will
know which medicine to prescribe. But ayurvedic doctors, they want to take the
patient to another level. At that level, things are very diff erent. Right now I am
taking treatment for mental illness. For this illness, there is a painful method. It
is giving “shocks.” After going there and coming here [referring to allopathy and
ayurveda], I feel this is better. But now everyone “prefers modern medicine.” It is
because of “modern society” that some are reluctant to come to ayurveda.^2