Taking forward the 150 years old legacy of Shree Dhootapapeshwar Ltd (SDL) which has been a pioneer in the contribution of Ayurveda knowledge and providing high quality medicines since 1872. Ranjit Puranik, Managing Director, SDL in a conversation with The Free Press Journal talks about the importance of Ayurveda in today’s society and their focus on going deep in Ayurveda helping them to provide high-quality medicinal products. He also talks about how they are following the traditional methods and scriptures used by the ancestors without making any change in it. They also have Ayurved physicians and doctors keep doing research at their factory in Panvel and Bangalore. Puranik also emphasises on various efforts taken by the Ayush Ministry in promoting Ayurveda at larger scale.
Q-From where do you generate all the revenue?
-----A lot of revenue comes in from medicinal products as most of our vertical from top to bottom is based on medical particular information that we have built up with the help of Ayurveda physicians around the country. Interestingly we are one of the few companies with thousands of employees that are on field meeting 100 to 150 doctors every month. We continued to drill deep in Ayurveda aiming its younger set of Ayurveda students should have deep knowledge. Moreover we are very fortunate to start the first primary healthcare centre in Panvel and specialised doctors from each field were regular at the centres despite travelling was difficult and time consuming.
Q- Why Kerala’s most of the population prefer Ayurvedic as their first choice, while some states depend on Allopath?
The reason behind Ayurveda being the first choice is because the Kerala government took it upon itself in highlighting aspects of Ayurveda at another level supporting a policy. However if we look at Maharashtra and Karnataka state governments they did not support traditional medicine or Ayurveda as there is no budget to take it to the next level. But some pockets like Pune, Dombivali, Kalwa, Nagpur and Karwar to Mangalore have kept Ayurveda alive on their own and the same kind of affinity and prevalence is seen in their primary healthcare. Although Maharashtra has 105 Ayurveda colleges which is highest in India and more five will be added by March next year but there is no policy for supporting Ayurveda.
Are there any case studies or serious patients that are treated by traditional medicine or Ayurveda which sets an example?
Yes! The Sarita Vihar hospital in New Delhi has demonstrated Ayurvedic treatment on serious patients admitted in the Intensive Care Unit. The doctors used Gokhru Kadha on the geriatric patient so that he could continue with his urination and it stopped adding four more Intravenous Fluids in his treatment. It only says that nothing is impossible as Ayurveda is the oldest form of treatment which takes time to heal but it’s very effective without harming any other body organs.
Q- When Rajnath Singh was the Health Minister of India he brought Ayurveda into the mainstream? What is your stake on this?
We have come a long way where the belief in Ayurveda keeps increasing and many countries have accepted it and this credit can solely be given to our Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has come out batting for ‘Swadeshi Sciences’. He revived our own sciences which are relevant in today’s societies and the portrayal of them have true essences, no loss in translation and no anglosiging the names.
Q- Baba Ramdev is openly advertising about cure to diabetes and hypertension through Ayurveda and everything is documented which he has brought into public domain?
I cannot comment on what Baba Ramdev is advertising and promising. But there is a difference between me as a stakeholder who has self-regulating lines. If I am uttering the words Hypertension, Diabetes and other diseases which is the realm of specialised doctors which cannot be encouraged by self-help as each of the cases has reason, severity and dependence on modern medicine is different. It cannot be encouraged by advertising or commenting. However Baba Ramdev’s contribution to Ayurveda is exceptional as he promoted Ayurveda in such a manner that now every second person is found doing yoga early in the morning. Moreover the research and documentation done by him is tremendous.
What is your vision related to expansion and advertising?
The vision is to take Shree Dhootapapeshwar nation-wide and make medicines available in far corners of India with literature and propagation in local languages was achieved by the brothers. By the mid-1930's the company had 26 branches in far flung areas of India and was manufacturing over 1000 Ayurveda medicines. The enterprise had its own printing press in Panvel for the load of publicity and literature was getting larger and larger.
What are the goals of Shree Dhootapapeshwar Ltd?
We have a simple goal of providing efficacious medicines of the highest quality, standardising the formulae to the satisfaction of Ayurved Vaidyas, scale-up to industrial scale and nation- wide distribution. Moreover there should be no room for errors.
