Kathmandu, Aug. 22 -- I had an appointment with Rishi Ram Koirala the day before he suffered his fatal heart attack. Last week Nepal has lost one of its mostcelebrated ayurvedic practitioners, the founder and medical director of the renownedAyurvedic Health Home.

It was a fortuitous blessing that I was able to see him one last time, taking a friend for a consultation. Whilst we sipped glasses of tulsi tea in the clinic's waiting area heavy with the scent of oil and powder, I struggled to find any bone fide complaints to waste his precious time.

Dr Rishi's kind brown eyes seemed to sparkle with health. "It's been years," he greeted me. Wearing a voluminous green gown, blue hair net, surgical gloves, double masks and a face shield, the ey...