Ms Namratha Lakshmi, Founder,, Legendary Foods, Singapore
“Turmeric Latte” which is today known as the golden drink and also hailed as the drink of the midas, has been a very common drink in most Indian homes for generations. It’s a traditional Indian remedy known for its anti-oxidants. There are several such traditional Indian medicines, forms and practices that are recently gaining popularity with the rest of the world but have rested in all Indian homes for generations. This conference was a fantastic opportunity to learn about many such practices.
Organized by the High Commission of India along with the Siddha Practitioners Association of Singapore (SIDPA) and the Ayurvedic Practitioners Association of Singapore on 21st June 2018, the 4th international conference was a continued activity to highlight the importance of traditional medicine. The world is moving towards re-learning to appreciate nature and the power of medicine which is thousands of years old.
Mr. Vikram Nair, Member of Parliament Sembawang GRC was the Guest of Honour along with Ambassador K Kesavapany, President Inter Religious Organization and His Excellency Mr. Jawed Ashraf. The three speakers emphasized on how it is important that Indian Medicines and its ancient remedies should be popularized amongst Non – Indian communities in Singapore. They also believed that more research and clinical testing should be put into place for standardizing Indian medicine. This will help improve possibilities for Indian medicines to be sold alongside western medicine.
Several doctors and practitioners from around India, Singapore and Malaysia were present for the conference to make presentations on their various specializations. Mrs. Nazeera Bhanu, President of the SIDPA set the foundation for the event in her welcome address where she mentioned that there were more than 17 speakers who had travelled from outside and within Singapore to address the conference.
Yoga—which some historians believe existed in some form more than 5,000 years ago in India—was pushed aside in the past couple of decades in favour of sweating it out on the treadmill and training the wobbly core with Pilates. It took a multitude of hot yoga studios in San Francisco make it popular in India again.
Then there are other Indian ingredients like ghee and coconut oil, being extolled in the West as the most marvellous “superfood” of them all—for clear skin and good digestion, to strengthening the immune system and, reducing total cholesterol levels in the body
Talks by Dr. Shanti Vijeypall from Hyderabad on the causes of cancer in daily life and prevention through Ayurveda, Leech Therapy in Siddha Medicine by Dr. P Senthil Kumar MD(S) from Chennai, Beauty and Age Reversal through Ayurveda by Dr Varsha Santosh BAMS, Boosting the immune system naturally and Siddha Medicines in Child Health by Dr. L Naansi Agnes MD (Siddha) were amongst the wonderful sessions we got to witness.
To quote the former President of India Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, “The best method for preventing diseases is Ayurveda because it is a comprehensive system based on natural medicine which is devoid of Toxicity”
Dr. MS Valiathan fromer president of Indian National Science Academy says “At this time there is no common ground where physicists, chemists, immunologists, and molecular biologists can interact with ayurvedic physicians. Ayurveda is not only the mother of medicine but also of all life sciences in India. Inspite of it, science has been completely divorced from Ayurveda. But these are interdisciplinary areas where advances will take place eventually.”