We were allowed a few hours of sleep before attending an introduction to Ayurveda by one of the doctors. I’m tempted to put “doctor” in quotation marks but these are actually licensed Ayurvedic medical practitioners by the government in India, and Ayurvedic treatment is part of the public health system here. It is just unusual and unfamiliar for us westerners to view medicine in a proactive rather than reactive manner, and to treat maladies with herbal medicine rather than synthetic medicine.

In the evening I started my “rejuvenation” program which entails 2 hours of treatment daily with various oil massages by two ladies. I was slightly uncomfortable when my therapist led me to the treatment room by holding my hand. Ironic really, since she minutes later saw me strip down, put a disposable panty on which resembled nothing other than a big diaper, and slathered me in oil, and then rubbed my entire naked body in every direction possible along with her younger apprentice. Tits and all. Somehow this felt less intimate than the handholding.