Arjun Vaidya OLD RECIPE, NEW PLATING

Arjun Vaidya, CEO of Dr. Vaidya’s, is creating a whole new segment of consumers for Ayurveda by offering 5,000-year-old solutions in modern packaging. The 28-year-old entrepreneur speaks to SUSHMITA SRIVASTAV about his rich family legacy, the pandemic, and selling Ayurveda online.

- SUSHMITA SRIVASTAV

What inspired you to establish Dr. Vaidya’s?

Our family has a legacy of practising Ayurveda for over 150 years. My forefathers have all been Ayurvedic practitioners, and we have 100-plus family formulations passed down from generation to generation. It started when my great-grandfather moved from Gujarat in 1923 and set up a small clinic in Bombay (now Mumbai). Then, my grandfather took over in 1971 and became one of the most famous Ayurvedic doctors in the country. He used to attend to 300-350 patients per day, and yet, just like his father, never took any consultation fee; patients were asked to pay only for the medicine. Later, my father started a jewellery brand, but there was always this regret in the family that we didn’t take the legacy forward. I was diagnosed with juvenile bronchitis at the age of two, and after 12 years of my grandfather’s treatment, I was completely cured. So, I grew up as a believer of Ayurveda and spent a lot of time poring over ancient texts with my grandfather and transcribing formulations on the computer for him. When I went to the US for my education, I saw organic products becoming fashionable and yoga being repackaged. I wondered why we couldn’t make Ayurveda cool too.

After I moved back to India, I spent three years working for a private equity firm; during this time my grandfather passed away. Then, I quit my job, launched the brand in October 2016, and named it after him.

Is there a travel memory with your grandfather that you cherish?