Aryavaidyan P.K. Warrier, the most respected name in Ayurveda across the world, is no more. He died at Kailasa Mandiram, the headquarters of Vaidyaratnam P.S. Varier’s Arya Vaidya Sala, Kottakkal, on Saturday. The doyen of Ayurveda breathed his last, five weeks after Arya Vaidya Sala celebrated his centenary birthday.
Managing Trustee of Arya Vaidya Sala since 1954, Dr. Warrier played a pivotal role in taking the century-old institution to heights of glory and fame. His seven-decade-long service has made him a synonym for Kottakkal Ayurveda.
A freedom fighter, Dr. Warrier gave Ayurveda a new face that viewed human beings holistically by considering the body and the mind in totality.
His book titled Smrithiparvam won the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award for the best autobiography in 2009. Its English translation titled The Canto of Memories was also hugely popular. He was elected president of the All India Ayurvedic Congress twice. As chief physician of Kottakkal Arya Vaidya Sala, Dr. Warrier treated a long array of VVIPs in the country, including Presidents and Prime Ministers.
The country honoured him with a Padma Sri in 1999, and a Padma Bhushan in 2010. Calicut University honoured him with a DLitt in 1999. He has many an honorific degree in his credit, including a Doctor of Medicine award from the University of Copenhagen.
His wife Madhavikutty and son Vijayan Warrier died a few years ago. He is survived by son Balachandra Warrier and daughter Subhadra Ramachandran.