Gopi Warrier

Life and career

Gopi Warrier is the son of G.P. Warrier, chairman of Indian National Railways and Principal Secretary to the Government of India. His grandfather was M.R. Krishna Warrier, a poet in Kerala. Warrier studied English Literature in India; he then took an MBA at the London Business School, studying also at the French Business School (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales) near Paris, and at the New York University Graduate School.

The West's first Ayurvedic hospital

In 2000, Warrier founded The Ayurvedic Charitable Hospital, with 30 beds, in London. The hospital was initially located on the third floor of the old Royal Masonic Hospital in Chiswick. Audrey Gillan, writing in the Guardian, reports Warrier as "concerned that Ayurveda's image could become spoiled" at the same time as the "first charitable Ayurvedic hospital outside India and Sri Lanka" was being founded. According to Gillan, Warrier "believes that many are guilty of intellectual pilfering of Ayurvedic principles."

According to the BBC, despite celebrities such as Cherie Blair, Naomi Campbell and Madonna "reported to be among those undergoing treatment", Warrier did not see this as the hospital's purpose. "The hospital's founder, Gopi Warrier, whose family runs several Ayurvedic hospitals in the Indian state of Kerala, says the new hospital is not for rich celebrities but for ordinary people." Warrier went on to dismiss any interest in having celebrities at his hospital, replying "The West has a tendency to dilute and distort and commercialise everything, including sacred knowledge", said Warrier, according to the BBC report. According to Laura Barton, writing in The Guardian, Warrier "looks appalled by the sudden Ayurveda hysteria. He would rather it were not treated as the latest item on the cosmetic counter to be listed in the stockists pages of Vogue and Cosmo, alongside anti-cellulite creams and bio-thermal wraps."

Similarly, two years later, Jo Revill, writing in The Observer, reports Warrier as criticising the West's approach: "Ayurveda is being plundered. Its beliefs and practices are being hijacked and the public are being conned." Warrier continued, Revill reported, "Our remedies are being pilfered - there's no other word for it - in order for spas and clinics to jump on a New Age bandwagon and con people out of their money"

Ayurvedic university

In 2004, Warrier, David McAlpine and Lady Sarah Morritt (trustees of the Ayurvedic Charitable Hospital) founded Mayur, the "Ayurvedic University of Europe", in London; it offers a B.Sc. degree in Ayurveda.

London's first ayurvedic restaurant

Warrier opened London's first Ayurvedic restaurant (named Mantra) in 2004 on Crutched Friars (a street in the City of London). According to Richard Johnson, writing in The Independent, "This new London restaurant is unique. You don't order your food, the waiter orders for you. You arrive, your constitution is assessed, and you're fed the appropriate food.". Barbara Pantin, writing in The Daily Telegraph, reports Warrier as explaining "Food is extremely important in Ayurveda. Even one meal can make a difference." However, in the following year, the restaurant was forced to switch cuisines in order to survive: "in 2005, it's out with the healthy grub [food] and in with a big bar".

Plays and poems

Warrier is the author of two books of poems, Varaha, and Lament of JC. One of the Varaha poems, The Last And Final Call For Flight Meenakshi RR1, was performed on stage and filmed.

Warrier has staged several plays in London and Mumbai: God Sports, The Tenth Incarnation, Genesis of Karma-Three Faces of Evil, Siddhivinayak Saves Mumbai from Terror Attack.