professor marthanda varma sankaran valiathan is currently chairman of the task force in ayurvedic biology of the department of science and technology and an honorary advisor , manipal university .
earlier , he was professor of cardiac surgery and director of the sree chitra tirunal institute for medical sciences and technology , thiruvananthapuram , for two decades .
he has been honored with many awards , fellowships , and honorary doctorates in india and abroad for his contributions to medical science and technology .
he was awarded with the padma vibhushan in 2005 . as part of a team on the project
even a short time with him would instill in us , immense positive energy to pursue intriguing work in ayurvedic biology .
thanks to journal of ayurvedic and integrative medicine ( jaim ) , i got the rare opportunity to interview prof .
valiathan and get a peek into his 78-year long journey as an accomplished surgeon , biomedical scientist , and a profound scholar of ayurveda , who is the pioneer of the idea that unique scientific opportunities can arise from viewing ayurveda from the perspective of contemporary science . professor valiathan agreed to meet me in manipal and meeting him in his office was sheer sattvic happiness . his simple , unassuming personality and assuring words
valiathan giving interview at manipal kj : it has indeed been a long 78-year fruitful journey . how was your childhood and what were the important transitions in your life ?
my early education was in the government school at mavelikara and then at university college , trivandrum .
my parents instilled in me a love for languages ( sanskrit , malayalam , and english ) , music , and ethical conduct .
there was tradition of doctors in our family and one of my maternal uncles , dr .
the first phase of my professional life began with postgraduate training in surgery in the uk , leading to fellowship at the royal colleges of surgeons of edinburgh and england in 1960 and a masters degree in surgery from liverpool university .
after a brief stint as a faculty member at the post graduate institute of medical education and research , chandigarh , i underwent further training in cardiac surgery at the johns hopkins , george washington , and georgetown university hospitals , usa , and became a fellow of the royal college of physicians and surgeons , canada , in cardiac surgery .
gott had developed the first thrombo - resistant surface by ionic bonding of heparin for cardiovascular applications ; hufnagel made history by implanting a ball valve into the descending aorta to treat aortic regurgitation in 1952 , even before the advent of heart lung bypass .
it was a heady experience to work with pioneers in biomaterials and cardiac devices , and follow their lead .
msv : when i returned to india in 1972 , my major problem was  getting a job  . at safdarjung hospital in new delhi
then i moved to iit , chennai , where i spent most of my time teaching and doing no research .
hufnagel , believed that i had made a foolish mistake in opting to leave the united states .
the chief minister of kerala , achutha menon , asked me to set up a hospital for specialities in the new , unoccupied building of sree chitra tirunal center , trivandrum , and offered me the freedom and authority to develop it . within 2 years , patients were admitted for treatment of cardiovascular and neurologic diseases at the center , and development of cardiovascular devices followed .
as sree chitra grew , it received support from the prime minister , morarji desai , and the institute was notified as 
an institute of national importance  by an act of parliament , within 5 years of my joining its helm .
msv : in 1975 , the demand for prosthetic valves was high in the hospital but import was expensive .
the state of kerala had but one licensed unit , which slaughtered less than 200 pigs per month , which made porcine valve development unviable .
my team then decided to develop a mechanical valve with a tilting - disc design .
a mechanical valve has three parts : a metallic cage , a ball or disc as an occluder , and a sewing ring of plastic fabric .
our first model failed because the metallic cage fractured ; the second failed because of cage - disc mismatch in hardness and excessive wear of the cage ; the third was on the verge of success , but failed because the disc fractured in the animal model and set us back seriously .
more than 75,000 valves have been implanted in patients ( till 2012 ) and over 1200 are being produced monthly by ttk industries .
our multidisciplinary team developed a series of disposable devices such as blood bags , oxygenator , cardiotomy reservoir , and a vascular graft , which are in commercial production in several industrial units in kerala and tamil nadu . during this period , my other team of surgical and scientific colleagues in the hospital built a large surgical series for treatment of a serious heart muscle disease in the tropics 
endomyocardial fibrosis  and did in - depth studies , which suggested its causation to be geochemical .
the chitra chapter fulfilled my dream of combining cardiac surgery , scientific research , and technology development in a seamless manner .
after two decades at chitra , i moved to manipal as the first vice chancellor of manipal university , which was a refreshing change .
kj : after a long and successful career as a cardiac surgeon , assuming the high post of vice chancellor in the field of education and several honors as a biomedical scientist , why did you study ayurveda ?
msv : the  predisposing  factor was my upbringing in an ayurveda - friendly environment . for any ailment , except obviously surgical , such as a fracture or a tumor , our family consulted a reputed ayurvedic physician 
once i joined the medical college and throughout my surgical career of three decades , ayurveda vanished from my view .
it reappeared in the 1990s , when i began to feel that nothing in my cardiac surgical practice , or indeed in the modern medicine , had been contributed by an indian .
it disturbed me that since the advent of modern medicine in india over 200 years ago , there had been no contribution by an indian  in the causation of a disease , a drug , a surgical technique , a technology , a prophylactic regime in medicine  which had been adopted globally .
i refused to accept shockley 's view that originality in science was exclusive to white people !
msv : i started my study of the charaka samhita with a saintly ayurvedic physician and profound scholar , sri raghavan thirumulpad in kerala .
he was in his 80s but was gracious to me and generous with his time .
i would inform him in advance that i would be coming with notes on my understanding of three to five chapters of the samhita 
i would discuss what i had understood ; he would point out my mistakes , the need for greater clarity , for abridgment , or expansion , etc
. he would also share with me related ideas and his own experience , which was invaluable .
i used to go to him once in two months and the studies went on for 2 years .
i was honored when he told me that i would not need similar help in the study of susruta and vagbhata !
kj : please share with us your views on charaka , susruta , and vagbhata .
msv : volumes have been written on the great trinity . what could i possibly add to what has been said ?
while excelling as a general physician with an encyclopedic mind , he formulated the mula sankhya doctrine  with 24 tathwas  before iswarakrishna , and modified the gunas of vaiseshika to suit ayurveda .
his claim that  what is found here , you may find elsewhere ; but what you do n't find here , you will find nowhere  was justified .
susruta 's text was revised by nagarjuna a few centuries after charaka and was better structured , more compact , and conspicuous by emphasis on surgery .
but i felt that several important sections on cadaveric dissection , plastic reconstruction of nose , lips , etc . , which won global recognition had perhaps been unduly shortened during the revision of the text ! unlike charaka and susruta who cared little for literary style , vagbhata was a master poet and physician who composed ashtanga hridaya in memorable verse for students and practitioners .
he drew his inspiration from charaka and susruta , and made them more accessible to ordinary people like us .
msv : learning of ayurveda was not easy because the basic concepts , the role of causation , pathogenesis , diagnosis , the rationale for doing procedures , the basis for prognosis , and most of all , the preparation of medicinal formulations , were vastly different from what i had learnt and practiced in a lifetime .
language was a barrier , but not insurmountable . without an inspiring teacher like sri thirumulpad
kj : how can we use newer information ( generated through reductionist approach ) for understanding ayurveda ( holistic science ) ?
msv : new science ( reductionist ) can not help in understanding all aspects of ayurveda . by definition , 
even after the ultimate reduction , there will be a part that would defy understanding .
but what is revealed by the reductionist approach even at this early stage  in studies on prakritis , rasayana , etc  is important and exciting .
msv : yes , it would be desirable to introduce a short , familiarization course of 2 or 3 weeks in ayurveda for medical students .
msv : the projects in the first round were concerned with studies on dosha prakritis , panchakarma , rasayna , dosha - neutralizing plants , and rasa - sindur .
the studies have been completed and two important papers have been published , with several more on the way .
equally importantly , they have built a bridge between ayurvedic physicians and basic scientists for joint research , and led to the establishment of a task force in ayurvedic biology at the department of science and technology .
kj : you have introduced innovative ideas like  textual epidemiology  in your book legacy of charaka .
msv : it would seem that my novel exercise in archeo - epidemiology based on a digitized text of the charaka samhita had escaped the serious notice of reviewers except an american scholar ! as a matter of fact , textual studies can be as exciting as biological studies .
for example , digitized texts could enable one to make probable estimates of common and uncommon diseases , commonly and uncommonly used procedures , evolution of the treatment of a disease from charaka to vagbhata , etc .
, during the period of brihatrayee ; computational linguistics could dissect the different layers of composition and revision of the charaka and susruta samhitas , and so on .
some work on these lines on the charaka samhita is being done in vienna , but none in india .
msv : i am at a stage when future comes to me in the disguise of today !  every morning brings a noble chance  and something of interest to do .
research in ayurveda has so far been mainly focused on the utilitarian aspect of drug development . however , ayurveda offers much more for a student of science .
apart from its central claim to be a holistic system , which prizes wellness , professor valiathan believes that unique scientific opportunities would arise from investigating ayurveda through the perspective of contemporary science .
when i asked him how ayurvedic biology would help ayurveda or biology , his answer was , 
i can not claim that ayurvedic biology helps , or will help ayurveda or biology .
however , when new science , new techniques are applied to old science , new sprouts of knowledge would appear .
the conversation with professor valiathan awakened the scientist as well as philosopher in me . here
i wish to quote charaka 's words from his book : the legacy of charaka . 
ayurveda owes its call not to selfish goals or worldly pleasure , but to compassion for fellow beings . in seeking to know my legacy
, you have but seen the leaves of a universal tree , too vast for your eyes .
kj : it has indeed been a long 78-year fruitful journey . how was your childhood and what were the important transitions in your life ?
my early education was in the government school at mavelikara and then at university college , trivandrum .
my parents instilled in me a love for languages ( sanskrit , malayalam , and english ) , music , and ethical conduct .
there was tradition of doctors in our family and one of my maternal uncles , dr . v.s .
the first phase of my professional life began with postgraduate training in surgery in the uk , leading to fellowship at the royal colleges of surgeons of edinburgh and england in 1960 and a masters degree in surgery from liverpool university .
after a brief stint as a faculty member at the post graduate institute of medical education and research , chandigarh , i underwent further training in cardiac surgery at the johns hopkins , george washington , and georgetown university hospitals , usa , and became a fellow of the royal college of physicians and surgeons , canada , in cardiac surgery .
gott had developed the first thrombo - resistant surface by ionic bonding of heparin for cardiovascular applications ; hufnagel made history by implanting a ball valve into the descending aorta to treat aortic regurgitation in 1952 , even before the advent of heart lung bypass .
it was a heady experience to work with pioneers in biomaterials and cardiac devices , and follow their lead .
msv : when i returned to india in 1972 , my major problem was  getting a job  . at safdarjung hospital in new delhi
then i moved to iit , chennai , where i spent most of my time teaching and doing no research .
hufnagel , believed that i had made a foolish mistake in opting to leave the united states .
the chief minister of kerala , achutha menon , asked me to set up a hospital for specialities in the new , unoccupied building of sree chitra tirunal center , trivandrum , and offered me the freedom and authority to develop it . within 2 years , patients were admitted for treatment of cardiovascular and neurologic diseases at the center , and development of cardiovascular devices followed . as sree chitra grew , it received support from the prime minister , morarji desai , and the institute was notified as 
an institute of national importance  by an act of parliament , within 5 years of my joining its helm .
msv : in 1975 , the demand for prosthetic valves was high in the hospital but import was expensive .
the state of kerala had but one licensed unit , which slaughtered less than 200 pigs per month , which made porcine valve development unviable .
my team then decided to develop a mechanical valve with a tilting - disc design .
a mechanical valve has three parts : a metallic cage , a ball or disc as an occluder , and a sewing ring of plastic fabric .
our first model failed because the metallic cage fractured ; the second failed because of cage - disc mismatch in hardness and excessive wear of the cage ; the third was on the verge of success , but failed because the disc fractured in the animal model and set us back seriously .
more than 75,000 valves have been implanted in patients ( till 2012 ) and over 1200 are being produced monthly by ttk industries .
our multidisciplinary team developed a series of disposable devices such as blood bags , oxygenator , cardiotomy reservoir , and a vascular graft , which are in commercial production in several industrial units in kerala and tamil nadu . during this period , my other team of surgical and scientific colleagues in the hospital built a large surgical series for treatment of a serious heart muscle disease in the tropics 
endomyocardial fibrosis  and did in - depth studies , which suggested its causation to be geochemical .
the chitra chapter fulfilled my dream of combining cardiac surgery , scientific research , and technology development in a seamless manner .
after two decades at chitra , i moved to manipal as the first vice chancellor of manipal university , which was a refreshing change .
kj : after a long and successful career as a cardiac surgeon , assuming the high post of vice chancellor in the field of education and several honors as a biomedical scientist , why did you study ayurveda ?
msv : the  predisposing  factor was my upbringing in an ayurveda - friendly environment . for any ailment , except obviously surgical , such as a fracture or a tumor , our family consulted a reputed ayurvedic physician 
once i joined the medical college and throughout my surgical career of three decades , ayurveda vanished from my view .
it reappeared in the 1990s , when i began to feel that nothing in my cardiac surgical practice , or indeed in the modern medicine , had been contributed by an indian .
it disturbed me that since the advent of modern medicine in india over 200 years ago , there had been no contribution by an indian  in the causation of a disease , a drug , a surgical technique , a technology , a prophylactic regime in medicine  which had been adopted globally .
i refused to accept shockley 's view that originality in science was exclusive to white people !
msv : i started my study of the charaka samhita with a saintly ayurvedic physician and profound scholar , sri raghavan thirumulpad in kerala .
he was in his 80s but was gracious to me and generous with his time .
i would inform him in advance that i would be coming with notes on my understanding of three to five chapters of the samhita 
i would discuss what i had understood ; he would point out my mistakes , the need for greater clarity , for abridgment , or expansion , etc . he would also share with me related ideas and his own experience , which was invaluable .
i used to go to him once in two months and the studies went on for 2 years .
i was honored when he told me that i would not need similar help in the study of susruta and vagbhata !
kj : please share with us your views on charaka , susruta , and vagbhata .
while excelling as a general physician with an encyclopedic mind , he formulated the mula sankhya doctrine  with 24 tathwas  before iswarakrishna , and modified the gunas of vaiseshika to suit ayurveda .
his claim that  what is found here , you may find elsewhere ; but what you do n't find here , you will find nowhere  was justified .
susruta 's text was revised by nagarjuna a few centuries after charaka and was better structured , more compact , and conspicuous by emphasis on surgery .
but i felt that several important sections on cadaveric dissection , plastic reconstruction of nose , lips , etc . , which won global recognition had perhaps been unduly shortened during the revision of the text ! unlike charaka and susruta who cared little for literary style , vagbhata was a master poet and physician who composed ashtanga hridaya in memorable verse for students and practitioners .
he drew his inspiration from charaka and susruta , and made them more accessible to ordinary people like us .
msv : learning of ayurveda was not easy because the basic concepts , the role of causation , pathogenesis , diagnosis , the rationale for doing procedures , the basis for prognosis , and most of all , the preparation of medicinal formulations , were vastly different from what i had learnt and practiced in a lifetime .
language was a barrier , but not insurmountable . without an inspiring teacher like sri thirumulpad
kj : how can we use newer information ( generated through reductionist approach ) for understanding ayurveda ( holistic science ) ?
msv : new science ( reductionist ) can not help in understanding all aspects of ayurveda . by definition , 
but what is revealed by the reductionist approach even at this early stage  in studies on prakritis , rasayana , etc  is important and exciting . that opens a new frontier in knowledge .
msv : yes , it would be desirable to introduce a short , familiarization course of 2 or 3 weeks in ayurveda for medical students .
msv : the projects in the first round were concerned with studies on dosha prakritis , panchakarma , rasayna , dosha - neutralizing plants , and rasa - sindur .
the studies have been completed and two important papers have been published , with several more on the way .
equally importantly , they have built a bridge between ayurvedic physicians and basic scientists for joint research , and led to the establishment of a task force in ayurvedic biology at the department of science and technology .
kj : you have introduced innovative ideas like  textual epidemiology  in your book legacy of charaka .
msv : it would seem that my novel exercise in archeo - epidemiology based on a digitized text of the charaka samhita had escaped the serious notice of reviewers except an american scholar ! as a matter of fact
for example , digitized texts could enable one to make probable estimates of common and uncommon diseases , commonly and uncommonly used procedures , evolution of the treatment of a disease from charaka to vagbhata , etc .
, during the period of brihatrayee ; computational linguistics could dissect the different layers of composition and revision of the charaka and susruta samhitas , and so on .
some work on these lines on the charaka samhita is being done in vienna , but none in india .
msv : i am at a stage when future comes to me in the disguise of today !  every morning brings a noble chance  and something of interest to do .
research in ayurveda has so far been mainly focused on the utilitarian aspect of drug development . however , ayurveda offers much more for a student of science .
apart from its central claim to be a holistic system , which prizes wellness , professor valiathan believes that unique scientific opportunities would arise from investigating ayurveda through the perspective of contemporary science .
when i asked him how ayurvedic biology would help ayurveda or biology , his answer was , 
i can not claim that ayurvedic biology helps , or will help ayurveda or biology .
however , when new science , new techniques are applied to old science , new sprouts of knowledge would appear .
the conversation with professor valiathan awakened the scientist as well as philosopher in me . here
i wish to quote charaka 's words from his book : the legacy of charaka . 
ayurveda owes its call not to selfish goals or worldly pleasure , but to compassion for fellow beings . in seeking to know my legacy
, you have but seen the leaves of a universal tree , too vast for your eyes .
 professor marthanda varma sankaran valiathan , fellow of the royal college of surgeons , ex president of the indian national science academy , is a reputed cardiac surgeon who made original contributions to cardiology and the development of medical technology . 
 he is widely recognized for his role in pioneering the joint culture of medicine and technology , and laying the foundations for the medical devices industry in india . 
 he has pioneered several scientific studies in the field of ayurveda and authored several books on the subject . in this free and frank interview 
 he discusses three important phases in his life , and his passion for the convergence of modern biology and ayurveda as a new discipline of science  ayurvedic biology  . 
INTRODUCTION
Phase-I: Early life in Travancore and medical education
Phase-II: Confluence of technology and medicine
Phase-III: Being an Ayurveda disciple and a pioneer of Ayurvedic Biology interface