Travelogues of my road-trips in India with my boys and other stories...

For "Destinations", Horizon, The Assam Tribune
Dated:

When was the last time you really cared for a body massage? If a little baby (you) wriggling from a grey-haired lady’s (your grandma, perhaps) stretching exercises at a sun-drenched verandah is all you remember – I suggest you read this article even if you feel dragged till the end.

Relaxing with a body massage may sound too superficial an indulgence for my no-nonsense, intellectual readership, but what if I talk about the therapeutic value attached! Spas are just about that! Literally speaking, a Spa is a resort or wellness centre devoted to enhancing the overall well-being of an individual through a variety of professional services that encourage the physical, mental and spiritual rejuvenation. Technically, the spa treatment is basically associated with what is called ‘balenotherapy’ or treatment of a disease with water. Destination Spa (spa at a resort or hotel), Day Spa (spa at beauty salons), Medical Spa (spa with licensed health care professional), Mineral Spring Spa (spa with on-site source of natural mineral water) and so on, are the types of available in India.

Here in Delhi, and like metros, Spas are fast becoming a fad of sorts. Right from the VLCC centres, Kerala Ayurvedic Clinics to Five Star Hotels and Beauty salons, ask for a Spa and you have it. City-chafed Delhiites find solace and instant rejuvenation at these Spas. What more, you can relish a Spa massage therapy at just Rs.1500. The upper limit can shoot upto lakhs, but how does that matter; you spend according to what your purse allows. If you are planning a trip to the capital shortly, you can try the high-end one’s like the Taj and the Oberoi Spa and reasonable one’s like Kairali Ayurvedic Health Spa (Panchasheel Enclave & Mehrauli), Med Spa (Rao Tula Ram Marg), Body Spa International (GK-I), Bliss Medi Spa (Hauz Khas), Genesus Well Clinic (West Patel Nagar) et al.

The Ayurvedic Spas, based on ancient Indian health principles are the most popular. They incorporate pure herbs and flower essences to invigorate the body and soothe the mind. For example, the Spa at the Taj Hotel (Tejas) offers (amongst many others) what is called the Aroma Oil Massage that uses constituents like Camphor, Eucalyptus, Black Pepper, Lime, Ginger, Rose, Lavender and Basil infusion. The Tejas also has a Wet Spa with facilities like Jacuzzi, Steam Room, Sauna and chilled shower.

If you ask me, the best Spa in India and Asia for that matter, is Ananda in the Himalayas. My materialistic wish list has it circled red ever since I happened to attend one of its corporate presentations at my office. This 21,000 sq-ft Spa, nestles at the Tehri-Garhwal region of Uttaranchal. Its menu of over 79 body and beauty treatments that blend Ayurveda with the contemporary Western Spa methods, make it Asia’s most expensive Spa. Try the Water Therapy where you are bathed in pure Himalayan spring water and water jets are used to pummel out tension knots from your body. The Body Treatments use clay and seaweed body wraps, fruits and flower extracts, herbs and spices and many more exotic natural ingredients. The Ancient Indian Honey & Sandalwood Rub is a very popular exfoliating therapy and the results, they say, are ‘mind-blowing’. Honeymoon couples’ favourite is the Couples Massage – a luxurious experience for two in the Kama Suite (one of the guestrooms). Go for the Ananda special 2 nights / 3 days Package where Deluxe Rooms cost somewhere between Rs.18,000 – Rs.21,000. Living at the Ananda, it is said, is a matchless pleasure in itself. The windows open to the pristine valley below and the city of Rishikesh. Leave the draping of your guestroom pulled aside at night and in the morning the benign rays of the Himalayan sun will caress you awake. And as your lung flexes with the mountain fresh, absolutely unpolluted air, you realise what you miss out in the cities and how much it matters to you.

And have you heard of Beer Spas? The latest addition to the European wellness circuit, Czech Republic, Germany and Austria boast of these ‘temptations’ that bank on the fact that ‘yeast is best in keeping beauty skin deep’. They have Victorian style baths where guests can swim in beer, while enjoying a pint poured at a bath-side bar. Sounds lip-smacking, doesn’t it?
The Spas are thus designed to de-stress, detoxify, cleanse your body, check aging, irregular body-weight and what not! The health quotient apart, the session transports you to a different world, at least for sometime. And if moments like these make you a ‘new man’ altogether, why not! Spas are truly worth the splurge!