Finding ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’ in a Kerala ayurveda clinic

Kotakkal in Kerala is famous for ayurvedic oil massages that can cure the apparently incurable of arthritis, sciatica and sundry back and body pains. My back pain and exhaustion have worsened recently, so I decided to give this a try. Initially, the aim was to go to Kotakkal, but doctors there said the Kotakkal treatment had been brought to New Delhi by several practitioners, of whom Dr Sudha Asokan was quite well known. So, I went to see her.
Sitting at her consultation table were two bright young girls, her assistant doctors. I got a big surprise when I learned their names — Dr Rameeza Parveen and Dr Sherin Sebastian. A

Muslim

and a

Christian

, both women, both ayurvedic doctors at a top-class institution! Nothing had prepared me for that.