Ayush 'festival of wellness' in Mangaluru on Saturday

A ‘Festival of Wellness’, aimed at revitalising the Ayush sector (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Sidda and Homoeopathy), will be held in Mangaluru on December 19 and 20.

The two-day Ayush Habba, organised by the State Ayush department, the Dakshina Kannada district administration and the Ayush Foundation, Mangaluru, is expected to attract over 25,000 participants, Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader told reporters in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Dr Shivarama Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama has been chosen as the venue for the event, which will act as a catalyst for promoting traditional systems of medicine by bringing them on a common platform in an attempt to popularise the Ayush systems among the general public, he said.

The festival will kick off with a walkathon on December 17 and culminate in a ‘Yoga for all’ session by students of various Ayush schools and colleges.

One of the main attractions of the Habba will be the Ayush food festival where nutritious organic food, including varieties of traditional Mangalurean cuisine, will be served.

There will be a free health camp, yoga sessions, lifestyle workshops, Ayush quiz, home remedies and diet regimes, agro meet and herbal exhibition, and cultural programmes.

Various breeds of cattle, along with the benefits of Panchagaya medicines - use of cow products such as ‘gomutra’, ‘gomaya’, ‘goksheera’, ‘godadhi’ and ‘goritha’ - will also be showcased. Cosmetic clinics will be set up where experts will perform beauty enhancement therapies.

Khader said Ayush Arogya cards will be distributed at the festival, which can be used by patients at various Ayush college hospitals to avail medicines and treatments at a discount.