Says Sachin, "I went to a nadi vaidya (an ayurvedic doctor who specialises in reading the pulse) and he read my pulse. I had mild indigestion and stomach ache. He asked me if I had eaten paneer (cottage cheese) in the last two-three days. True enough I had. He told me that the paneer hadn't been digested and that was causing the problem."

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Nadi shashtra is gaining in popularity. Even young people are now aware of this treatment mode. "Yes, there is better awareness today than a few years back," says Vaidya Ashutosh Thigale from Pune, "But it's still not very high."

He explains that ayurveda begins where allopathy ends. And pulse reading is the brain behind ayurveda. "If Ayurveda was our body, nadi shashtra would be its brain," he explains.

Nadi (pulse) is like an internal probe, but without any gizmos. It's a bond that's built temporarily between the nadi vaidya and your body. "Nadi shashtra can cure just about anything," says Vaidya Thigale. He has checked 150,000 nadis over the last nine-and-a-half years. "It's about touch. I can't explain what it is. One has to study it, experience it."

Nadi shashtra clues into the person's metabolism and identifies the problem, if any.

Some success stories

Supriya Kapadia, a commercial artist from Mumbai, thanks her stars that she came across nadi shashtra. "I have some indigestion problems. I was fed up of allopathy. Different doctors told me different things. And then my aunt suggested that I undergo nadi. It has helped like crazy," she explains.

Her pain has gone, her system is much better, and most of her tests show an improvement, she says. Now her entire family is undergoing treatment with her nadi vaidya. "My mother-in-law could not sleep without her sleeping pills for several years. After meeting the nadi vaidya, she has given up the pills," Supriya explains.

The young take this medicine not without their first hiccup of skepticism. Romil Ghosh, a student from Pune says, "My friend's family knows a nadi vaidya and they all recommended that I go to him for my headaches."

Romil went first just for the "heck of it" and in a month's time was a changed person. "First, my digestion improved, then I started feeling more active, and then after three weeks, my headaches disappeared," he explains.

He says he has recommended this therapy to all his friends. "Some have switched over like me. Most laugh at me that I wake up early in the morning to take my medicine. They absolutely ridicule the idea saying that nothing can beat allopathy and antibiotics," he adds.

Some inhibitions

Vaidya Thigale says that ayurveda has not been projected well over the centuries. "Even the government is against the practice of Ayurveda. They have banned all the medicines that we require for our treatment," adds.

He says chandan (sandalwood) can reduce heart blockages drastically. Coral is a well-known agent that acts against cancer. Yet all these are banned by the government. "I know these medicines work," he adds.

Treatment methodology

Nadi shashtra has two critical aspects -- one is the identification and the other is the treatment. "Many vaidyas can read the pulse, but they do not specialise in treatment. Treatment is also a very critical aspect," says Vaidya Thigale.

Treatment is largely in the form of kadas. Kadas are made from herbs that are boiled in water. These herbs are handpicked from the jungles by Vaidya Thigale and his team. "I know that when I give the medicine it will work. I know the purity of the herbs," he says with conviction.

In our search for a perfect system and a healthy body, some of us are going back to our ancient sciences. Some a little more vehemently feel, like Supriya, "I am never going to try allopathy again, unless it's an emergency or surgery."