A beautiful mind

HIRAL DHOLAKIA-DAVE / TNN / Mar 5, 2006, 19:46 IST

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'I want to empower women to the extent that they start feeling they are worth it'.

'I want to empower women to the extent that they start feeling they are worth it'.
A square inch of it has 15 feet of blood vessels, 12 feet of nerves, 100 sweat glands and 1500 sensory receptors. If you are wondering what are we talking about, well here goes: "Skin is the largest organ of the body through which one can get rid of all toxins.
Once people realise this, their entire attitude towards applying anything to skin would change," says Bharti Vyas, 62, a London-based holistic beauty therapist.
Perhaps this very realisation got the likes of Cherie Blair and Bill Clinton seek her treatment and high-profile Britons like Cher, Belinda Carlisle and Ralph Finnes endorse her books.

So what was it that Blair or Clinton came looking for? "All these so called power-people are under high pressure and fed up of cosmetic approach. But at the same time they share normal concerns like normal people do.
In fact I don't remember a single incident where any of them might have put up a tantrum," she says, adding, "Not even if I might have run late."
Born in Mombasa, brought up in Nairobi and settled in London, Vyas's Gujarat connection is strong. "I am of Gujarati origin and my in-laws belong to Devgarh Baria," she says.

In fact her knowledge bank includes information gathered from hamlets of Gujarat to villages in Kenya and China too.
"I heard of this blind old man from this village near Devgarh Baria who would scrub mud with his palms and women would have normal delivery. He would rub mud in one direction. The logic was simple.
Mud is rich in minerals and the magnetic power of the hand helps penetration of minerals which eventually eases nerves," she says. And it's this wealth of knowledge, which Vyas intends to give back to India.
"I want to empower women to the extent that they start feeling 'we are worth it'. If she feels good about herself, is knowledgeable about her beauty and health naturally it will have a positive impact on the health of the entire family," she says.
Interestingly, for someone who wanted to set up the first ever traditional Indian curry factory few decades back, a move towards beauty industry happened quite accidentally. "Post pregnancy I was advised bed-rest.
As I got too bored my husband suggested that I join a beauty course. At 35, I joined an institute and a thesis on skin got me interested in this aspect of beauty," she says.
That she went on to make principles of accupressure, ayurveda, aroma and magnetic therapy quite a buzzword amongst the European elite is history but she considers the fact that her ingenious methods have been included in two-year foundation degree course in holistic beauty therapy at Buckinghamshire Chiltern University an honour. A long journey indeed.

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