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In the winter of 2005, when a chill had set in Indo-Pak relations following the Delhi blasts that killed 62 people, an unlikely avenue was explored as a form of Track-II diplomacy. A renowned Ayurveda physician from Kerala was dispatched across the border to treat various Pakistani luminaries, including then prime minister Shujaat Hussain.
In a top secret operation, the Indian government took Dr Ravindran, medical director of Coimbatore Arya Vaidya Pharmacy, who also served as physician to former President K R Narayanan, to Islamabad. It was an idea mooted by PM Manmohan Singh, implemented by Hormis Tharakan, then chief of R&AW, and facilitated by Shiv Shankar Menon, at that time the high commissioner to Pakistan.
During his stay at Punjab House, Dr Ravindran's initial list of "patients" included Gen Pervez Musharraf. Some contingency forced Musharraf to change his plan, but his secretary and a woman relative did brief Dr Ravindran about his health condition, especially a nagging spondylitis problem.
The idea of sending an Ayurveda expert stemmed from a meeting between Shujaat Hussain and Manmohan Singh. "The PM advised his counterpart to try Ayurveda. Later, Singh directed the R&AW chief to facilitate treatment," a person who was actively involved in the whole operation said. "It was a wonderful human gesture. And, of course, it is all the more special when the bonding is with Pakistan," Hormis Tharakan said.
Dr Ravindran arrived in Islamabad in the last week of December 2005 and stayed on till January 2006. During examination, it was found that Hussain was suffering from many ailments, including neurological problems. "An elaborate treatment regimen was prescribed. As a first step, Ayurvedic preparations needed for the first phase of the treatment was brought from Delhi by Menon," the source said. There was considerable improvement in Husain's health during the first phase itself.
"But something went wrong and India cancelled the programme. The team was told to stand down twice. We believe it was some border skirmish that forced India to cancel the initiative," the source said.
Dr Ravindran confirmed that he had gone to Islamabad. "For me it is karma to treat a patient, whoever he is. I am not bothered about anything beyond that."
