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THREE THERAPIES OF SOUTH INDIA
People who suff er from mental diffi culties in India have many options in their
quest for relief. Th ey could go to a mantravādan who uses magic if their fam-
ily feels sorcery or evil eye, which can be invoked by the jealousy of another,
might have caused the mental distress. Th ey could visit a psychiatric clinic and
receive pills or an injection, which are seen by many in India as fast-acting but
dangerous modern medical interventions. Occasionally they may also receive
some counseling at the clinic. Th ey could go to the local mosque where a saint
is buried and which people of all faiths visit in the hope that the munifi cence
of the saint and the auspiciousness of the setting might help them overcome
their illness. Th ey might visit an ayurvedic physician and come away with pills,
which they have heard are slower acting but less dangerous, less prone to side
eff ects than allopathic drugs. Th ey could end up in an ayurvedic psychiatric
hospital where they might be treated with orally administered medications,
cooling “mudpacks” and medicated enemas. Or a person suff ering illness and
her family may try one of many esoteric healers they have heard about from
friends or read about in the newspaper: perhaps the Catholic priest who com-
bines psychotherapy and yoga or the Hindu pandit who mixes spiritual teach-
ing with his own version of ayurveda can help them fi nd some “change,” as
they say in Kerala.
Ayurveda, allopathy and religious healing are the three most com-
mon forms of therapy for mental illness, possession and related problems
in Kerala and in much of India. Ayurveda is an institutionalized system of