Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal
A commemorative postage stamp on the Centenary of the Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Shala, an Indian traditional Ayurveda healthcare centre, founded by Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier :
Issued by India
Issued on Oct 12, 2002
Issued for : The Department of Posts is happy to issue a commemorative postage stamp featuring the Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal and its founder.
Design : The design of first day cover tries to capture the spirit of the ancient traditions of Ayurveda.
Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Suresh Kumar
Cancellation : Alka Sharma
Type : First Day Cover
Colour : Five Colour
Denomination : 500 Paise
Overall size : 2.90 x 3.91 Cms.
Printing size : 2.90 x 3.91 Cms.
Perforation : 13.5 x 13.5 mm with elliptical hole on each 39.1 mm sides
Paper : Matt Chromo
Stamps Printed : 0.8 million
Number per issue sheet : 16
Printing Process : Photo Offset
Printer : Calcutta Security Printers Ltd.
Name : Panniyinpally Sankunni Varier
Born on Apr 10, 1869 at Kottakkal, Kerala, India
Died on Jan 30, 1944
About :
- India is home to a variety of alternative medical and health traditions. The most prominent among them is Ayurveda, perhaps the longest unbroken health tradition of the world, which has a textual and theoretical backing that is many centuries old. The Department of Posts tries to focus attention on this glorious tradition by issuing a commemorative postage stamp on Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, an institution of excellence that has contributed immensely to the development of the Ayurvedic Medical practices in modern times.
- Established in 1902 by Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier (1869-1944) the Vaidya Sala has played an important role in reviving Ayurveda, which had suffered a setback during the colonial times. Not only did the institution contribute, develop, and evolve Ayurveda to meet the challenges of changing times, but it also took health care to the weaker sections. This was done by organising the Vaidya Sala as a charitable Trust in which the profits were ploughed back into the institution itself. The Charitable hospital, one among the arms of the Trust, provides free service to the weaker sections, thus ensuring that the surplus generated benefits the society at large.
- Organising the medicine manufacturing facilities systematically in a factory setup, standardising of procedures and evolving of bench marks in many aspects of treatment, raising a country-wide network of branches and agencies and taking up of significant research programmes, particularly in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, have been some of the significant achievements of the Vaidya Sala.
- The centenary of Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal is also an occasion to pay homages to its founder, Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier, who was a visionary in his own right. His versatile genius transcended the domain of Medicine which was his chosen profession. He was an author of repute with many plays, musical compositions and articles to his credit. As a lover of fine-arts, he was also instrumental in reviving the traditional dance-drama, Kathakali. He was a philanthropist with deep nationalist convictions. In the field of Ayurvedic Medicine, his contributions were voluminous and multifarious, which was taken note of by the Government of India which awarded him the title of “Vaidyaratnam“ in 1933.
- Text : Based on material furnished by the sponsors.
