176 chapter
medicines when admitted are slowly weaned off these medications over the
initial period of treatment.
I used the same interview questions and format with allopathic patients,
but, even if they had positive reactions about other aspects of allopathic ther-
apy, they did not off er any positive evaluations of the aesthetic experience of
undergoing allopathic treatment. For example, no allopathic treatment was
described as “cooling.” When patients said something good about allopathy it
was usually that they experienced improvement in their condition. Th is is not
to say that more patients experienced improvement with allopathy. An evalu-
ation of short term (six to nine month) outcomes among patients of allopa-
thy, ayurveda and religious therapies showed no signifi cant diff erence between
these three therapies in terms of eff ectiveness at improving patients’ conditions
although certain therapies appeared more appropriate for certain patients.^12
For example, an engineering student we interviewed at an allopathic hospital
was the most fervent supporter of allopathy which he praised for being “more
logical, more methodical.” Also, while several Muslim patients say they bene-
fi ted from healing at Beemapalli mosque, a Muslim woman whose husband is
an army nurse, and who said she did not believe in religious healing, felt she
experienced no improvement from visiting Beemapalli but got relief through
allopathic care.
Regarding the aesthetic process of healing, a few allopathic patients also
off ered complaints about unpleasant eff ects of allopathic therapies that resem-
bled those reported by ayurvedic patients refl ecting on allopathic treatment.
A young man, Varghese, who was seeking treatment at an allopathic facility
when we spoke to him recalled the treatment he received earlier at another
allopathic facility:
I was taken to [name of hospital]. Th ere I was given three shocks. I felt numb-
ness in my head when I got the fi rst shock. [.. .] Th ere I completed six months
of treatment, I broke my lips [he later explained that this was due to ECT],
was totally tired mentally, and came home. I could not write my examination
in maths. [.. .] I was given an injection. Terrible pain. When I requested to do
counseling, I was called in and examined for swelling.Varghese’s way of avoiding these uncomfortable eff ects of therapy was to
seek treatment at the allopathic facility he was currently utilizing but from a
clinical psychologist who relied on fewer medications.
Some people who were using religious therapies had similar evaluations
of the aesthetics of allopathic therapy. Th e wife of Hanifa the former Gulf
migrant introduced in Chapter 3, who was seeking relief for his “tension”
and sleeplessness at Beemapalli mosque, was concerned about memory