REJUVENATED. THAT’S what one feels after an hour-long session of Kerala massage. All you have to do is lie on the Droni ( a bed made of Devdar wood) and give yourself up to two masseurs who drip you in warm oil. The massage is followed by a steam bath and a warm shower, enough to relax your muscles for the week ahead.

“This is just one of the massages based on Panchkarma, the complete Ayurvedic health programme sustained and practiced in Kerala for years,” explains Gita Ramesh, joint managing director of Kairali Ayurvedic Health Resort. “ The massage is done with medicated herbal oils that remove the toxins from the body and protect it from illnesses,”adds Gita who along with her husband K.V Ramesh brought the “ Ayurvedic way to total wellness” to Delhi in 1989.

Being a graduate in biochemistry and married into a family well versed in Ayurveda (her father-in-law had a manufacturing unit of Ayurvedic medicines), it was not very difficult for Gita to imbibe some of the knowledge herself. “We chose Delhi to open our center as it is the Capital and people from all regions live here. Also, we wanted a place, where the concept was relatively unknown,” says Gita, who made Saket her first home.

The journey from south was by no means an easy one. The concept of bargaining for a discount, and that too for a treatment, was quite alien to her southern sensibilities. “I was shocked,”that’s all Gita can say. The fact that today Gita looks more like a Delhiite, is a different story. “The word massage was an add-on, since people just wouldn’t understand the concept of an Ayurvedic center,” says Gita. The couple decided to stay on in the Capital only if the center worked. And work it did. Gita has a center at Mehrauli and another one in Panchsheel Enclave. Gita’s picturesque health resort on Andheria Modh, Mehrauli, boasts of an impressive clientele that includes prominent dancers, pop singers, corporate executives and politicians.

“Besides there are also a lot of housewives, working women and younger people in their twenties,” says Gita. Her husband, Ramesh has branched out into the construction business and is now Director in a Japanese company. Their two sons are studying in the US.

Promoting health tourism in India is high on Gita’s agenda. The Kairali Ayurvedic Health Centre and Spa opened in Palakkad in 1999 was a step in that direction. Later she opened similar centers in Khajuraho and Mumbai. Her eyes are now set on opening a health resort in Karwar, Karnataka. Her participation in the World Travel Mart time and again is also a part of the mission. Germany, France, the UK, Sweden, Italy and Japan, are some of the countries where Gita has taken Ayurveda through participation in seminars and conferences.

Gita wants to establish a base in north Delhi by giving the know-how to practicing Ayurvedic doctors in the area.

She made Shivalik her home in 1992. “From a quiet place, it has become very congested today. But the RWA is very active. I don’t regret being here”, says she.