Metro Plus
Chennai
Pain and PRESSURE
Dr.Rajamony Varma treating a patient using Varma therapy. Pics. By N.Balaji
REMEMBER THOSE mysterious moves Kamal Hassan used in the film "Indian" to disable villains? Just a couple of casual jabs and stabs with his fingers and the baddies fell down in a heap. Those were not gimmicks thought up by a stuntman with an over-active imagination but a martial art form with a healing touch — Varmam.
"However, Varmam is not just about violent moves that twist your opponents into awkward positions. It is also used to relieve pain," says Kannan Pugazhendhi, who specialises in sports medicine and practises Varmam occasionally.
Varmam is an ancient martial art form from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which cures ailments through applying pressure on the nerve centres called the Varmam points. It is not like any other form of medicine that is mastered over a particular period of time, says Dr. Pugazhendi. It takes several years to specialise in Varma chikitsa, as it is traditionally called, since the ancient method of gurukulam teaching is followed.
"The student lives with the guru, serves him, takes care of his needs and only if the guru feels the student is fit to learn Varmam, does he impart the skill," explains Dr. Pugazhendi, who incorporates the art with his therapy. "In sports medicine, injury management had certain limitations and so I took to Varmam. I found that it worked where many allopathic remedies failed," he says.
Varmam is an advanced form of Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial art form that is still popular in Kerala. A student has to prove that he is patient, tolerant, determined and dedicated before he is considered fit to learn Varmam.
"The teachers of Varmam are secretive because misuse of the techniques can lead to fatalities. You could just tap a person on a vital point and it could kill him in 30 days," warns Dr. Rajamony Varma, Chennai's only Varmam specialist.
Such disconcerting stories, and, of course, the film "Indian," have made people associate the martial art with attack, pain and death, missing out completely on its therapeutic aspects. "When I first heard about Varma therapy I was apprehensive about trying it. However, after several sittings with the doctor, who explained the entire process — how my spinal cord is affected, how the activation of certain nerve points will reduce pain — I changed my mind. My back pain has reduced dramatically since I began to undergo this therapy," says Rajalakshmi.
However, unlike the old days when only the guru decided who should practise Varmam, today it is necessary for the chosen few to be qualified physiotherapists or physicians — persons who understand the anatomy of the body. "It seems authentic when someone with a medical background prescribes and practises this treatment," says Ramesh, whose arthritis is improving with regular therapy.
G. Subbulakshmi, among the few women qualified in Varmam, agrees that people need to be convinced about the effects of the therapy. "I explain their problem and how the treatment will help. The result is evident as they soon bring in friends with various ailments," she says.
Subbulakshmi, a physiotherapist, runs a clinic, CurioCare. Her only complaint is that many who practise the art are untrained. "This sends out a wrong message. Sometimes, people mistake it for massage as we first apply oil on the affected area before activating the Varmam points," she says. Subbulakshmi, like the other therapists, prepares her own concoctions of oil and herbs according to the patients' needs.
Practitioners claim that Varmam is the mother of all therapies and speak with pride about how King Bodhi Dharma and Sage Bogar took it to other countries.
"The problem is that Varmam was not propagated properly. Though acupressure and acupuncture follow the principles of Varmam, they are renowned the world over while Varmam is fast dying," says Dr. Rajamony Varma, who has been practising it for the past 45 years. He adds that some inscriptions written on palm leaves are yet to be transliterated, while others might have been lost. Being a fifth generation Varmam practitioner, his list of patients runs from VVIPs to businessmen to homemakers.
"It is possible to cure a person suffering from epilepsy, migraine and even cerebral palsy. I have conducted several workshops in India and abroad to prove that this therapy has a scientific base."
Now that alternative therapies are gaining popularity Rajamony Varma hopes that Varmam is recognised as a science and people benefit from it. However, specialists agree that it is a secret art and as Subbulakshmi puts it, "You have to experience its effects to understand it."
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