A small village near Dharamsala was recently transformed into a cosmopolitan mix. Himachal’s shepherd community—the Gaddis, Nepalese, Tibetans, Austrians—including the Austrian ambassador, and Germans joined a few saffron-clad, long-haired babas in Sidhbari—10 km east of Dharamsala—to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a clinic.

The clinic is run by Nishtha—a rural health, Image by Ulf  education and environment centre headed by Dr Barbara Nath-Wiser, an Austrian doctor who has been quietly changing the face of this village since 1984.

Her life reads like the script of a Hindi film. In the late 1970s, Barabara then a medical student, was on a visit to Dharamsala. Her quest to learn Indian music brought her in touch with Krishna Nath—a traditional Nath baba —who lived in a temple. The music lessons ended in their wedding after which they left for Austria. In the early 1980s they returned to India. After her husband’s death, Barbara decided to continue living in Sidhbari. She initially worked for a local clinic before setting up her own.

The main strength of Nishta remains the polyclinic which Barbara runs. Approximately 50 patients from the village and neighbouring areas visit the clinic every day. The clinic provides allopathic, ayurvedic, homeopathic and acupuncture. Medicines are given at subsidised rates and free of charge to the poor. ‘‘The treatment is holistic,’’ says Barbara.

The 5,000-strong Sidhbari village consists mainly of shepherds and labourers. The health problems are many—contaminated drinking water and harsh working conditions result in many cases of infectious and degenerative diseases. Tuberculosis and hepatitis are common.

Earlier the villagers drank water straight from the snow-streams which were often contaminated up-stream.

‘‘It was a diarrohea-mela here during monsoons,’’ says Dr Kishwar-Ahmed Shirali who is a part of the team. In a bid to combat water borne disease Nishta has made filtered drinking water available at the clinic.

‘‘Regular health awareness workshops, seminars, awareness raising fetes and camps are held to ensure that people know important facts about their bodies, prevalent diseases and how to increase their ability to manage family crises,’’ says Kishwar.