About Us
Institutional History
This institute has a long history of curing the ailing for almost the past hundred years. Formerly known as ‘Basanta Ayurveda Bhawan’ (founded in the year 1926), it gained enormous admiration and respect from the people of Bengal in treatment through traditional ayurvedic medicines and natural cure therapies. Following its roots in Atharva veda, ayurveda provides an age-old traditional information to achieve a healthy life balancing mind-body and spiritual well being.
The institution was founded and named after Dr. Sri Basanta Pakrashi, by his eldest son Kaviraj Sri Manoranjan Pakrashi, who was a great physician and philanthropist at heart. It was founded with the vision of helping the poor and needy in their times of ailing. The founder director also established a personal laboratory for the purpose of carrying out the scientific research for preparing different and newer kinds of medicines from the old scriptures of Ayurveda.
Kaviraj Sri Manoranjan Pakrashi (1905 - 1969)
The founder of the institution, Kaviraj Sri Manoranjan Pakrashi (1905 - 1969) was born on 23rd November, 1905, in Kishoreganj, (Maimansingha district) which is now a part of Bangladesh. He came to Kolkata in the year 1922 after a brilliant result in ‘Matriculation’ to study medicine with a dream of becoming a doctor just like his father Dr. Sri Basanta Pakrashi, who was a renowned physician practicing in Kishoreganj. Deeply moved and influenced by the ‘Swadeshi Movement’ of Gandhiji, he took admission to study swadeshi traditional treatment ‘Ayurveda’ in ‘Kolikata Vaidyashastrapith’, refusing the opportunity to get admitted in ‘Calcutta Medical College’. While studying he supported himself by working as an associate priest in the Shobhabazar Rajbari and after a long struggling endeavour he was able to accomplish his dream. He founded this institution in 1926 in the name of his father as ‘Basanta Ayurved Bhawan’ and started practicing here. Apart from being a renowned physician, he was a visionary in the scientific research of developing newer kinds of medications from the old scriptures of ayurveda in his personal laboratory. Besides the treatment of regular illness his excellence was in the newer kind of successful treatment of ‘Chickenpox’ and researches on the healing effects of snake venom in several terminal illnesses. The poor and needy got a lot of attention from this philanthropist for whom the hippocratic oath remained uninfluenced by money and materialism. The place was more like a charitable organization beyond just health care. He was a ‘Karmayogi’ in the true sense and also had a huge contribution to the freedom fights in the history of Indian independence. He was in constant touch with the leading freedom fighters of Bengal including personalities like Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Hemanta Basu, Trailakya Maharaj, Dada Thakur and others.
In 1934, after the devastating earthquake in Munger, Bihar, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose led a rescue operation where he was one of the doctors in his medical team. He had the opportunity to be closely associated with the legend, Netaji himself. He had been providing all kinds of support secretly for years to the freedom fighters in their revolutionary path. The place thus has a tremendous historical significance as it was a meeting point as well as shelter for several renowned freedom fighters of that era.
The great life came to an end on 12th May, 1969 in kolkata.
Kaviraj Sri Ramakanta Pakrashi (1933 - 2019)
The legacy was continued by his eldest son, Kaviraj Sri Ramakanta Pakrashi (1933 - 2019) who was born on 5th November, 1933 in Kolkata. In his long career as a physician and researcher, he scaled newer heights in the field of medical research and treatment protocols. He completed the highest degree in the formal education of traditional medicines known as Ayurved State Faculty (ASF) from Paschimbanga Ayurved Parishad. He started practicing from 1957 in the same organization under the guidance of his father. Amongst his many contributions to the research of Ayurveda, some noteworthy and path breaking medicines developed by him are still being used by his successors. One of his research was preparing medicine from the venom of black cobra snake as the continuation of his father’s findings in the institute’s laboratory, which received enormous appreciation for successful treatment of different chronic and incurable illnesses including pain management treatment of cancer. He remained so committed to his researches and trials, that he never bothered about patents or publishing his works in foreign journals.
Patients with serious burn injuries were able to find their perfect skin texture and complexion after following the treatment protocol without any surgery or invasive procedures. From the day-to-day ailments to difficult, treatment resistant and referred patients from different parts of the country found their ways to this institute as their last hope to end their sufferings. The institute became a pivotal point of treatment in the local community as well as getting global attention and appreciation. Inspired by the same philanthropic principles followed by his father, he became the new hope for the treatment of the needy and poor.
He was also attached to three different renowned Ayurvedic Colleges & Hospitals of Kolkata where he was the visiting physician and guest lecturer of Ayurveda. He was also associated with community services and conducted awareness campaigns in the locality and was a famous and known face in different national conferences on Ayurveda. With sixty years of experience as a physician he was of the opinion that the mind plays a critical role in the healing process of any kind of physical illness. He also believed that there were direct inter connections between immunity, neurological aspects and our thought process.
His active and vibrant life came to an end on 18th September, 2019