Introduction

The first section of the Introduction presents an overview of the history and development of Ayurveda and other indigenous medical traditions of India. It discusses the kind of healing practices that were prevalent in prehistoric times in the subcontinent. It outlines the influence of different philosophical traditions and the development of agriculture and urbanisation on Ayurveda and its canonical works. The role and importance of other medical traditions are also touched upon here. The colonial encounter with indigenous medicine in diverse sites and the gradual mutation they underwent during British colonial rule are briefly discussed in this section. The author outlines the reformulation of Indian medical systems after Independence and the recent popularity of Ayurveda in the west and modern India. The second section introduces the hereditary physicians of Kerala, the subject of the book, and the particularity of their ancestral medical practices. In this section the author introduces his conception of the difference between traditional and modern Ayurveda. Here he also presents the fieldwork he conducted on hereditary Ashtavaidyan physicians and folk healers of Malabar.