The Science of His Ancestors

Not that he ever learnt the science at an institute — to him it was handed down by his ancestors. He hopes to help people with the knowledge that he learnt the hard way: it took him and his associates years of rummaging through jungle shrubs and curing hundreds of fellow tribesmen with herbs to learn the science.

Struggle, Exile and a Fateful Flood

D.P. Mishra, the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, had promised the legendary tribal king Praveen Banjdev of Jagdalpur a "manna-of-sorts" in exchange for the tribals' votes. He also threatened to depose him and install his younger brother Vijay in his place if he did not comply. In the clash that followed in 1966, Banjdev was killed, and the indomitable tribals killed and wounded many policemen with bows and poison-tipped arrows.

There began a regime of repression against the tribals. It was then that they moved en masse deeper into the jungles of Bhadrachalam district in Andhra Pradesh, where they remained cocooned, feeding on fruits and meat and living totally cut off from civilization.

The flood of 1985 proved a godsend. All their dwellings were submerged and a few hundred tribals were killed. There was a rush of leaders in helicopters — from Rajiv Gandhi to N.T. Rama Rao — who ordered immediate relief and permanent dwellings. They were evacuated to Gandasiri village of Khammam district in Andhra Pradesh, where pucca houses were built for all, arable land was provided and even a primary school was opened. The flood had irrevocably changed the course of these tribals' lives, and more so of Shavadev himself.

The Mission That Matters

In his last three stints — two years in Jabalpur, one year in Bhilai and six months in Satna — Guruji claims to have treated thousands of afflicted persons; a testimonial from a top executive of the Bhilai Steel Plant seems unnecessary. But he was in for a shock at Nagpur. Landing there with ten of his associates ("they are my compounders," he says with a smile) and setting up tents at Raghuji Kagar, he had expected citizens to queue up for a treatment that has no side-effects and was being offered free of charge.

Nagpurians, swindled many a time by mountebanks dressed up exactly as Guruji and his men do, refused to believe he was any different. Ignored for over a month, his hopes started receding — until the PRO of a public sector company heard his story and recognized the do-gooder in him.

He has since been meeting prominent citizens of Nagpur and treating them, but his main interest lies in treating the common man. "The rich man can always get good treatment. It is the poorer citizen I would like to treat — and as many of them as possible."

A Wider World

It was in his early twenties that Guruji set out to see the outside world. The list of his friends and patrons now reads like a who's who of politicians, top bureaucrats and filmstars — perusing the innumerable testimonials of his medicinal expertise, face-reading and fortune-telling can be an exhausting experience. He has covered a large part of the country, going as far as Sikkim, whose Chief Minister Nar Bahadur Bhandari is a good friend of his father.

He vividly remembers when about fifteen white men came to his father promising the tribe all facilities and a lot of money, wanting only one thing in return — the setting up of a church in the area. The tribal king refused to fall for the bait.

The tribe has now taken to farming and trade, but Guruji, himself well-off with 35 acres of farmland and a tractor, isn't satisfied. The only way the nation will recognize the true worth of his people is through Ayurveda, he asserts — and all that he does now is aimed at that. For him, the mission matters, the place doesn't.