'Mainstreaming of Ayurveda' essay competition at 24th Prof P K Devi memorial oration function.

An event ‘Mainstreaming of Ayurveda’ was held at Sion Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya by a collaboration of Medical Research Centre of Kasturba Health Society, Antarkar Memorial Forum and Ayurvidya Prasarak Mandal on 20th September 2015 between 8.30 am and 12.45 pm. This was remembering and celebrating two yesteryear doyens Vaidya D S Antarkar and Prof P K Devi from the two different domains of expertise; Ayurveda – Kayachikitsa and Modern biomedical – reproductive health respectively.

This was the first year of Vaidya D S Antarkar memorial prize paper competition. Late Vaidya D.S. Antarkarji's contributions to the field of Ayurveda and his earnest desire to see that Ayurveda attains the position of mainstream medicine in its true sense are illustrious. The students, colleagues, and well wishers of late Vaidya Antarkar have come together to form ‘Antarkar Memorial Forum’ (AMF). The forum has had academic activities in the past such as publication of articles [1], symposium [2] and an ‘Antarkar Memorial Volume’ [3].

Post-graduate students or those who recently passed MD from the field of Ayurveda participated in this essay competition ‘Mainstreaming of Ayurveda: Challenges and Opportunities’. Formal announcement and circulars were sent to all Ayurveda teaching institutes in Mumbai and thirteen students participated. The panel of judges' shortlisted three manuscripts for the oral powerpoint presentations. The selection was made on the basis of brevity of language, clarity of subject, novelty and applicability of propositions. Dr. Ashwinikumar Raut, the Secretary AMF while welcoming the audience also took an account of Antarkar Memorial Forum and explained the theme of the competition. Each shortlisted participant made 15 min presentation with discussions. All the three presentations were excellent in content, aesthetics of slides, communication skills and could complete in a stipulated time. Discussions following each presentation were a treat and triggered the desired thought process on the subject amongst the audience.

The first prize winner Dr. Harshad Rasane made brilliant presentation. During his talk he proposed reforms in academic and research domains if Ayurveda has to become mainstream. These were viz. 1. Ayurveda training with multidisciplinary exposure, 2. Clinical-case-based learning, 3. Up-dating medical professionals with the research and advancements in Ayurveda, 4. Insurance-coverage for Ayurveda therapies, 5. Promoting rational use of Ayurvedic drugs etc.

The second winner Dr. Yogesh Tamhankar made some outstanding propositions for Ayurveda's brand as a business model. His noteworthy propositions were viz. 1. Exploring the untapped potential of Indian flora for medicinal utility with Ayurvedic rationale 2. Consolidating health promotive and disease preventive strengths of Ayurveda 3. Make use of health tourism for Ayurveda's global promotion 4. Promoting Ayurvedic products as medicinal products instead of food supplements in global markets etc.

Dr. Seema Ingale who received the third prize presented issues to reverberate the integrative ethos of Ayurveda viz. 1. Integrative Ayurveda training, 2. Editing Ayurvedic classical texts with relevance to current bio-medical understanding 3. Evidence based Ayurveda approach to practice, 4. Developing appropriate methodologies for Ayurveda research etc. All other participants were announced to receive consolation prizes. The cash prizes and certificates were distributed through the hands of Dr Ashok Vaidya a soulmate in Antarkarji's research endeavors.

The second session of the day's function was of Prof. P K Devi oration. Prof. P. K. Devi was instrumental in developing excellent departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology in several medical colleges and contributed significantly to clinical research in reproductive medicine at national and international level. She knew that clinical research in India is neglected. She had foreseen that if medical teaching and services were to be of good standard, clinical research was essential. Prof. Devi was interested in the growth of Ayurveda, the ancient system of medicine, as a science. She had actively collaborated with Vd. Antarkar, Dr. Ashok Vaidya and Dr. Rama Vaidya while she was Acting Director at ICMR's premier institute erstwhile IRR (currently known as National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health). For the last 23 years, this function has been taking place in different parts of India and several who's who from the academic and biomedical research fields have delivered this oration. This year's 24th oration was delivered by a reputed obstetrician, gynaecology and teacher par excellence, Dr. Shirish Daftary, emeritus Dean and Medical Advisor, Nowrosji Wadia Maternity Hospital, Parel, Mumbai. Title of the oration was ‘Medical Education – Journey through Academia and Contributions towards Women's Health Care’. Dr Daftary in his eloquent oration shared his life-time experiences in the academics, research and clinical services related to women's health and particularly so to painless labour. He emphasized the significance of integrating the non-pharmacological and Swastha-Vrutta related life style modifications in comprehensive management of women's health. Dr Arun Nayak, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology from LTMG, Sion, Mumbai was the chief guest who briefed on the current state of affairs in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology and extended hand of collaboration with Sion Ayurveda Mahavidyalaya. Dr Shailesh Nadkarni, Chairman, Ayurvidya Prasarak Mandal, who presided over the function emphasized on the fidelity to the Ayurveda ethos and need to comprehend the richness of traditional practices.

The function started with invocation of Shri Ganesh-symbolizing intellect, Devi Sarawati-symbolizing knowledge, and Lord Dhanavantari-symbolizing healthcare whereas, it ended with national anthem.