LOK-AYURVED-A Call for Collaboration !
Dr. Chandan had very rich experience while working in remote parts of mountains that the knowledge being taught in the colleges of Ayurveda (Indian systems of medicine) is already ingrained in the daily chores of indigenous communities to such an extent that flow of knowledge from one generation to the next is smooth and is an unnoticed process. This is probably due to the remoteness of mountain terrain that compels the people to have their own system of health care that can be utilized without the standard prescription of a modern doctor. It has been established after research that the system in practice is a complete package of practices to suit the local health needs and consistent with the herbal resources of the area. This is what he calls it Lok-Ayurveda the unwritten format of Ayurveda.
Dr. Chandan has a strong family tradition of Ayurveda and astrology. Pandit Ram Prakash Chandan was a leading practitioner of astrology, karamkand and Ayurveda in the Hoshiarpur area of old Punjab. The family had a tradition of karmkand and Ayurveda that forced Dr. Narender Pal (father of Dr. Arun Chandan) to adopt the profession of Ayurveda. Getting trained in Patiala Dr. Narender Pal joined service in Punjab Govt that later became Himachal Pradesh in 1962. He served in remotest parts of Himachal and learned a lot from mountain communities. He had a record of staying at the place of posting and serving the ailing communities with full commitments at all places wherever he had served in three decades of service.
The great learning came from famous folklore:
Harar Baheda Amla , Vana Basuti Varyan uthu Mahnu kiyan maren,
(6 Plants backbone of Primary Health Care)
Mahi Marchadi Gaur Uthu buti kya kare koi hor!!!!
(3 more plants) therefore 9 plants
This was the time when the thought of unwritten knowledge about health care among the communities started striking in their mind. He cherished a time when he was working with the people in Malana in Kullu district in Himachal Himalayas which is the oldest democracy in the world. Taking over from grandfather and father Dr. Arun Chandan took over this tradition further. He has been working in the remote and far-flung backward areas in the Himalayas along with his father. The learning gained in the historical school of Ayurvedic medicine in Himachal Dr. Chandan started his carrier to launch a community-based health care project in Kangra district along with his doctor wife Dr. Mamta. A decade’s long experience with the people in the villages forced him to study the basics of health care and understand the developmental scenario in the mountains.
This was the foundation for LOK- AYURVEDA. The strength of local knowledge and uninterrupted documentation got him associated with various national and international agencies. He Worked with LSPSSS Lok Swasthya Samvardhan Smiti Coimbatore with Dr. GG Gangadharan and Mr. Darshan Shankar of FRLHT, Dr. NN Mehrotra of CDRI and Jeevniy Society and Shrimati Bhanwar Dhabhai and Dr Jiya Lal of RGM Rashtriy Guni Mission.
Dr. Chandan is seriously concerned about the depleting traditional knowledge of health care prevalent among mountain communities. He is trying hard to conserve, document, and validate the traditional outstanding knowledge of mountain people. He is working to protect people’s IPRs and developing products out of their knowledge. Benefits sharing based on ethical principles and understandings are core areas of his interest. He takes every step to help the people to have their own health care system and thus want to promote LOK AYURVEDA.
Contributions, collaborations are solicited from interested individuals and organizations to work together. Dr. Chandan wishes to create a database of traditional healers, their practices across mountains, initiate efforts to conserve botanical resources. He is keen to develop and validate products out of the knowledge and contribute to drug discovery.