Himalayan News Service

New Delhi, May 30

A memory-sharpening tea, a tea to magically slim down, and music that cures all ailments - these were the highlights of an astrological fair in the Indian capital, New Delhi. The ‘Vedic Astro Expo-2004’ had herb healers, soothsayers, palmists, fortune-tellers, yoga gurus and mud massage specialists — a microcosm of the myriad fields that fuel the Indian traditional cure industry across the world. Held at the basement of the sprawling Satya Sai Temple complex in Indian capital New Delhi’s Lodhi Estate area, the two-day long fair had 18 stalls selling everything from sacred beads, stones to ward off the evil eye, tarot card readers and CDs-full of music that “cleanses the mind and the body”. “Every ailment is a musical problem and the cure lies in musical solution,” said a blue board outside the stall of K S Loomba, who cures using music. Loomba, who said his therapy is based on the texts of ancient Hindu physicians, connects seven core areas of the body with the seven notes in music. The first note, he said, corresponds to semen and the last to skin. “All ailment is born when there is a disruption of the natural flow of sound in the body which causes negative forces and diseases,” said white-bearded Loomba, “A juxtaposition of the right notes cleanses the system.” At the neighbouring stall of the Cochin Ayurvedic Centre, Suresh KC showed off old photographs of himself. “See I used to be this fat,” he said. “Now I have lost 25 kg and am fitter than ever before. In three months, it is guaranteed that you will lose weight. No exercise, no diet control, just drink the tea!, “ he added. The centre also sells another tea, which Suresh said enhances memory. “This tea makes your memory so sharp that you will be able to remember anything.” Hearing him chuckled astrologer and palmist Sumedha Saxena, “Memory, who needs memory? It’s all written in the palms of your hand.Your past and your present, no need for anything else — just learn to read them.” Traditional Indian cures are making waves across the world from luxury spa and well being centres in Hollywood to small-time clinics across India. The emphasis on stress-relief in traditional Indian medicine is drawing millions of followers. Even at the fair, there was representation from a popular de-stress therapy — Kerala ayurvedic massage.