Ayurveda and MBBS

Shashibhushan Gupta was an Ayurvedic Doctor, commonly called (in Bengal) the Kaviraj.

The Kaviraj’s family had been practicing Ayurvedic medicine since time immemorial. He could trace his ancestry back for fifteen generations.

He had ancestral scrolls dating back to many centuries that laid out treatments for almost any disease that could afflict human beings.

He was revered as the “Kaviraj” not only by the people in his village, but many other nearby villages.

Shashibhushan Gupta was a contented man. He had respect, adequate wealth, and peace.

His peace was disturbed, however, when he received news that a MBBS Doctor, one Naren Gupta, was setting up a practice in his village. This charlatan would propagate the new-fangled medicine which the accursed British had brought into the ancient land, one in which Ayurveda had been written over two thousand years ago.

This was bad enough, but what was worse was that this pretender was also from the same caste as Shashibhushan Gupta – the Vaids. This rascal, Naren Gupta, had abandoned the faith and the knowledge of his venerable ancestors and taken to the ways of the dastardly British !

Over the next few months Shashibhushan Gupta sensed that his clientele was waning. He was used to having his courtyard filled with patients of all manners and descriptions, from babies in arms to elderly men affected by gout. The crowd continued to diminish day by day, to the point when one morning the Kaviraj had no patients in waiting at all !

Not wanting to expose his embarrassment to his wife, the Kaviraj went for a walk around the village. Somewhat against his expressed intention, though probably due to some internal curiosity, he happened to pass by the house of that young charlatan, Naren Gupta.

The courtyard was full ! People were even sitting outside his door !

In his anger and frustration Shashibhushan Gupta cut short his walk, returned home, shouted at his wife, castigated his daughter Charubala for a minor ommission, and generally made a mess of himself.

A few days later Charubala developed a nasty boil on her ankle. The Vaid put a poultice on the boil, the prescribed treatment as laid down in his ancestral scrips. But it did not work. The boil grew. The Vaid tried another poultice, and even gave Charubala an evil-tasting brew of herbs which were certain to extract the vile humors. All that happened was that young Charubala threw up continually, and the boil became more and more monstrous.

At last the Kaviraj’s wife could tolerate it no more.

“Do you want to kill my daughter, our only child ? Can’t you see that you don’t know how to cure her?”

“Well, yes, I really cannot understand. There is another treatment in the scrips. I must try that.”

“You will do nothing of the sort. You have nearly killed my Charu already. No more treatments from your scrips. Call the new Doctor. Maybe he can help”.

“What ? You want me to get that impostor of a physician to treat my own daughter?”

“If you don’t do so, I will tie a kalsi (a large water container) to my neck and jump into the pond. I will take Charu with me, too.”

At this threat, the Kaviraj had no option but to relent.

Young Dr Naren Gupta, MBBS, came to the Kaviraj’s home the next morning. He was most respectful to him and his wife, but not quite so to Charubala, whom he addressed as “Khuki” (little girl).

Charu was very offended at being called a “khuki”. She was almost sixteen ! Nevertheless, she had to submit to his examination of that offending boil.

Dr Gupta opined that the boil had to be lacerated so that the pus could be taken out and the spot could heal. This was anathema to the Kaviraj. Surgery was the last resort in Ayurvedic medicine.

Nevertheless, seeing the anguish on Charubala’s face, and the determination on that of his wife, he relented.

The painful procedure was over quickly.

Dr Naren Gupta was a bit shaken by the look that he got from Charubala thereafter. He realized that she was not a “khuki”.

He bandaged the wound and stated that he needed to change the dressing every day.

The Kaviraj agreed, albeit reluctantly. After all, medical procedures needed to be taken to their proper conclusion.

Shashibhushan Gupta enquired from the charlatan what his fees would be.

Naren’s reply was surprising.

“The little knowledge I have about medicine is not worthy of treating a member of your family. By giving me the opportunity to do so, you have paid me much more than I can ever deserve”.

The Kaviraj was surprised, his wife was appreciative, and young Charubala was enchanted.

Over the next few days Dr Naren Gupta came every day to change the bandages on the lacerated boil.

What transpired between Naren and Charubala during those occasions have not been recorded. Indeed, they could not have been, because Charubala’s mother had been on strict attendance, supervising these occasions. However, glances and smiles can never be recorded.

Over the next few months Charubala’s mother kept pestering her father about the need to find a proper groom for their daughter.

At her persistence, the Kaviraj found a suitable match four villages away, and the engagement was scheduled.

Unfortunately, Charubala burnt her hand when stoking up the cooking fire.

As you may be aware, a girl with a physical defect cannot be engaged. The prospective groom’s family was not willing to wait for the wound to heal, and the engagement was broken off.

Charubala’s parents were heart-broken. However, she seemed quite happy despite her painful burn, which Dr Naren Gupta was addressing daily.

While the burn healed, the Kaviraj persisted in searching for another groom for his daughter. Success was achieved eventually. The groom’s parents came to meet the girl, found her acceptable, terms of dowry were agreed, and the engagement was set for an auspicious day three weeks later.

The day before the scheduled engagement Charubala’s mother was horrified to find her daughter about to smash a brick on to her toes.

What followed was a severe interrogation about the reasons why Charubala was inflicting wounds on herself.

The result was : Charubala’s mother insisted that the Kaviraj offer their daughter’s hand to Dr Naren Gupta, MBBS.

“What ? Are you mad ? That Charlatan ? That Impostor ? Never on my life!!”

“Remember, I still have the kalsi for myself, and another one for our Charu”.

The Kaviraj relented.

The proposal was cheerfully accepted. After all, the bride and groom were a perfect match, in age, in caste, and even in profession.

Thereafter, the villages in the area found a great degree of co-operation between the elderly Kaviraj and the young MBBS Doctor.

If a chronic case, asthma for example, came to Dr Gupta, he would advise the patient to consult the Kaviraj because chronic cases had better chances with Ayurvedic medicine than with modern medicine.

If the Kaviraj had a patient who suffered from blood pressure or flue, he would advise him to consult Dr Naren Gupta, MBBS, because modern medicines had better cures for such ailments.

Needless to say, in due course, there appeared more young souls in the Gupta household, dutifully looked after by Charubala’s mother.