Kochi: All four hotels of the Taj in Kerala, which have full-fledged ayurvedic centres attached to them, have added a feather in their caps in the form of Green Leaf, the state government’s recognition for quality, purity and authenticity of the ayurvedic care rendered to the tourists.

The Tamara Spa at Taj Malabar, Kochi, the Taj Ayurveda Centre at Taj Residency, Kozhikode, Sowparnika at Taj Garden Retreat, Varkala and the Taj Ayurveda Centre at Kumarakom are the proud recipients of this honours by the Kerala government.

Green Leaf is the highest classification awarded to the ayurvedic centres that fulfil all the essential and optional conditions prescribed by the Kerala’s tourism department. The essential conditions include qualified and sufficient ayurvedic physicians and personnel to attend on both male and female tourists separately, high-quality medicines and health programmes, excellent, clean and hygienic equipment, environment, facilities and infrastructure.

The optional conditions specify that the centres should have high-standard architectural and interior features and superior extra facilities like steam bath rooms, meditation and yoga centres and herbal gardens. The centres that fulfil only the essential conditions are awarded the Olive Leaf classification.

A committee comprising the Kerala tourism director as its convenor and the director of Indian Systems of Medicine, the Professor Kayachikitsa, Government Ayurveda College, Thiruvananthapuram, a representative each from the Ayurveda College, Kottakkal, and Indian Association of Tour Operators as its members, after strict evaluation, accordingly, issues the relevant certificate. Thus, all the above Taj Ayurveda Centres have now received the top endorsement - the Green Leaf.

State-of-the-art centres All the four ayurveda centres of the Taj are set in luxurious five-star environments with serene ambience well suited for the nature of soul-stirring ayurvedic therapy provided by them. All are managed by qualified doctors and personnel trained by Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, Coimbatore. All these ayurveda centres of Taj in Kerala have treated a host of celebrities from all walks of life in inland and from abroad as well.

The Taj Ayurveda Centre (TAC), Kozhikode, which forms an attractive part of Taj Residency, Kozhikode has two doctors and 12 therapists (six men and six women) who can provide treatment to 26 persons at a time.

The centre receives a lot of non-resident Indians and foreigners. A major segment of the beneficiaries are Arabs, including Arab ladies. There is a library in TAC Kozhikode where the guests can get an insight into the traditional knowledge of ayurveda and related subjects.

Tamara, the Spa Ayurveda Centre at Taj Malabar, offers authentic rejuvenation, therapeutic and beauty treatment sessions depending on the requirement of the guests in a contemporary setting. Designed by Abacus, Singapore, Tamara’s one of the specialities is its landscaping and lighting, which are on par with international standards. The spa has a full-time doctor and two female and two male masseurs.

There are two treatment rooms for men and women separately. The spa includes a full-fledged gymnasium, yoga and aerobics room, beauty parlour and salon with modern facilities like Jacuzzi. Tamara Spa provides poolside service at the hotel’s infinity pool to delight the guests with fresh fruits and vegetable juices as prescribed by the ayurvedic physician.

Traditional cure The Ayurveda Centre at the Taj Garden Retreat, Kumarakom, where Prime Minister A B Vajpayee had spent a week during his winter sojourn in Kerala in 2000, and Sowparnika at the Taj Garden Retreat, Varkala, too, offer fantastic ayurvedic care to the tourists with facilities like Jacuzzi, steam bath, rejuvenating ayurvedic massage and other fitness and therapeutic services.

All forms of treatment such as uzhichchal, pizhichchal, dhara, kizhi, abhayangam and avaghaham are provided under professional medical supervision with separate facilities for both male and female tourists.

All four Taj Ayurveda Centres have two types of treatment - a short-time rejuvenation package either for three days or one week, and a longer course of therapeutic package for two weeks or even up to five weeks, depending on the requirement of the person for different ailments as advised by the Ayurvedic physician.

Each person is advised to undergo the best package that is most suited for his or her improvement. A senior ayurvedic doctor visits the centres once a week and professionals from Coimbatore also come to the centres depending on the necessity. Vegetarian diet, meditation and ashtanga yoga are prescribed. And proper follow-up is also advised.

Rejuvenating exercise A typical day begins with an hour of yoga and meditation under the surveillance of the instructors. This is followed by specially prescribed breakfast. After which one is led for the long sessions with the therapists and masseurs. Lunch, rest, soothing Indian classical music and lectures on ayurveda, yoga, astrology and spirituality… Everything is there to make one’s herbal holiday perfect.

Since diet is very much an integral part of ayurveda, the doctors at the centres and the chef of the hotel concerned discuss the matter and according to the personal prescription, the diet is prepared and served to each person on time.

Be it the three-day rejuvenation programme or the 35-day package with holistic treatment sessions, each one is designed to transform one’s life giving the person a psycho-physiological wellbeing - a sort of spiritual rebirth. A lifetime experience by Taj, which means great value for money.

The authenticity of the ayurvedic treatment provided by the Taj could be gauged from the fact that a set of ayurvedic therapists of Taj from Kerala was specially flown to Taj Exotica, Goa, where Vajpayee spent his recent annual holiday.

Ayurveda in Kerala is one of the biggest tourist attractions these days. Tourists from all over the country and abroad are seeking healing in Kerala’s numerous ayurvedic centres. The popularity of this traditional medicare has led to mushrooming of a number of ayurvedic centres across the state.

To evaluate the safety and service standards of these ayurvedic centres and to classify them accordingly, the Kerala government has come out with this proactive measure of approval in the form of Green Leaf and Olive Leaf. And the Green Leaf status for the Taj ayurvedic facilities in all the above four hotels means a lot to the health-conscious domestic and foreign tourists, who come to Kerala seeking authentic ayurvedic care.