Franklins Panchakarma & Ayurveda Centre
An introduction to Franklin’s can only begin with a short brief about Dr. Franklin himself. Hailing from a family that has practiced Ayurveda for nearly 400 years, Dr. Franklin is born with the hereditary streak of healing. With relevant education, experience and a clear cut vision, building Dr. Franklin’s Panchakarma Institute came easily to him. The property has been built around the idea of concept hospitality where strict adherence to Ayurveda meets the au naturel tropical Kerala location to make for complete holistic healing.
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History
Dr. Franklin’s institute was started in 1997. Being from a family of physicians, he has passed on his gene to his daughter who carries forward the legacy and along with her husband who is also a physican, helps run the place. Currently Dr. Franklin visits to attend cases on most occasions but is largely travelling to deliver seminars in other countries about Ayurveda and traditional healing.
Treatment
Treatments adhere to strict Ayurveda standards. Uniform clad therapists escort the guests to the treatment rooms that are situated above the dining area. The wing is quiet and serene. The therapists move about expertly ensuring the guests are completely relaxed and ready for the therapy. The 22 treatment rooms are airy and dimly lit. The paathi (massage board) is made of medicinal trees and is believed to lend its own healing property during a massage.
A treatment chart is put up in the restaurant with a complete schedule for each guest on a daily basis. Treatments are preceded by the doctor’s consultation.
When the guest is leaving, usually medicines are sent along and online follow ups are prevalent.
Accommodation
The accommodation is minimal and congruous with Ayurveda. The simple accommodation in the excellent location is indeed reason for the true Ayurveda experience.
There is a new wing that was added to the property a few years ago. The wing is just across the road and has a swimming pool, fitness centre and a beauty parlor besides 24 of the 38 AC Deluxe rooms in the entire property. All the remaining rooms are present in the old wing along with the consultation rooms, restaurant, reading area, yoga hall, treatment room and reception.
Physicians
Started by none other than an Ayurveda practitioner himself, Frankin’s has some excellent doctors whose sole aim is to heal and cure based on original teachings and texts (the practice of adhering to texts is called ‘chitta’ in Malayalam and applies to everything about the guests lifestyle including meals, exercise, routine and so on). They are insistent about following everything as per the instruction to gain the desired result.
Dr. Vargheese Franklin (DAM), founder of the property, holds a degree from University of Kerala and Post-graduation diploma in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation from Bombay University. He retired as the District Medical Officer, In the Ayurvedic System of Medicine. Post retirement he worked as physiotherapist for the Qatar based Rayyan Football team.
Back in Kerala, he started an Ayurvedic treatment centre for tourists at the Neptune Hotel in Kovalam in 1988 before realizing his dream in 1997 by building his own healing centre.
Dr. Soumya Franklin BSMS, is the daughter of Dr. V. Franklin and has kept the family tradition alive by involving herself completely in the medical wing of the property.
Dr. Sony Joseph (BAMS) is Dr. Soumya Franklin’s husband, and the Managing Director and Chief Physician of the clinic. Dr. Sony has specialized in Panchakarma which has resulted in revolutionizing the way treatment is conducted here. He has strived to introduce modern medicine diagnostic techniques in age old Ayurveda practices. This resulted in the construction of a lab for the testing of the possibility of various treatment combinations. As Dr. Sony is the senior doctor, all consultations begin with him, after which a course of treatment is decided upon. From then on the junior doctors do the daily check-ups post which the final check-up and discharge history is again discussed with him.
There are two other Ayurveda specialists who carry out the daily consultations and have been with the property for nearly 10 years.
Yoga and Meditation
The yoga hall is a separate wing that is open on the sides. The hall is aesthetically done with beautiful wall paintings and since it is enveloped among trees, there is a cool breeze at all times. The yoga instructor Mukil Kumar imparts Hatha yoga or the yoga of balance. This yoga is more about the powerful asanas and equally relaxing meditations. He has been training at the property for 4 years now. As per the course of the Ayurveda treatment some guests may require a lighter yoga session which he happily obliges to. He conducts additional classes for guests who request it. Usually a class duration varies from about one to one and half hours.
Medicines, Vegetables and Groceries
Most oils and creams for external body application during treatment are produced in Dr. Franklin’s very own production unit only 20 km from the property. There is a lab in the property ensuring testing of various medicinal concoctions that can be put together as per requirement.
The ingestible medicines and tonics are all sourced from reliable units.
Vegetables and groceries are also obtained from reliable sources from where fresh and chemical free produce is acquired. Some herbs are home grown and are used in cooking as well.
Food
As per Ayurveda, chitta (Malayalam for adhering to lifestyle norms as described by ancient Ayurveda texts) is to be strongly followed when on treatment. This has indeed been taken seriously here. Chef Lalu Krishna has been working at the property for 9 years and is well versed in creating highly nutritious yet delicious food.
Breakfast is chosen from an A la Carte menu formulated for guests under treatment. There is a variety of herbal juices, fruit juices and vegetable juices to pick from. The guests can pick a fruit and a main breakfast item which includes traditional Kerala breakfast fare, healthy sandwiches or cereal. The breakfast items are usually steamed and made of healthier alternatives such as rice or whole grains and are accompanied by cooked lentils and vegetable curry besides coconut chutney.
Lunch and dinner is an elaborate buffet that consists of 2-3 varieties of soup, broken rice gruel. A selection of salads which are a fine medley of assorted vegetables and healthy dressing form the appetizers. Plain rice and a special rice are both present with a selection of curries and side dishes which are distinguished on the basis of the tridoshas (..). There is an option of a healthy juice alongside the meal.
Even though the lunch and dinner follows a similar style, the menu for each is different every day. The food is tasty and crafted with thought, care and nutritious value for the guests.
Ayurveda Packages
At Dr. Franklin’s it is strongly believed that each course of treatment varies from person to person. However, some basic treatment packages have been designed and can be altered to suit each individual diagnosis.
Besides these the classic Ayurveda healing treatments are practiced such as pizhichil, vasthi, snehapanam etc, as per diagnosis and condition basis.
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Location
Situated near Kerala’s capital city, Trivandrum, Franklin’s is set amidst verdant vegetation and tropical climate. It is at a distance of 200mt from the Chowara beach in the South Kovalam region in Chowara.
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