'She was beautiful inside'

Herbal queen Shahnaz Husain talks about her association with Indira Gandhi and how her sudden death pushed her to a nervous breakdown

Herbal queen Shahnaz Husain talks about her association with Indira Gandhi and how her sudden death pushed her to a nervous breakdown

Shahnaz Husain, the queen of herbal products, used to be Indira Gandhi's personal beauty consultant for over 20 years a fact that she claims to have never acknowledged while Gandhi was alive. On the former prime minister's 25th death anniversary, Shahnaz talks about the Iron Lady as the world knew her, and as the person whom she knew... the woman who had sensitive skin and a softer heart.


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Believer in Ayurveda
Shahnaz and Gandhi were family friends an acquaintance that went back to their grandfathers. "I remember the first time I met her soon after I returned from Tehran in 1975. I was specialising in skin care then and she was a great believer in ayurveda and plant power. Though we were family friends until then, after this particular meeting, I met her often to give her skin care products," recalls Shahnaz, who gives full credit to Gandhi for launching her in the international market and making her aware of Brand India.

The year was 1982. Gandhi asked Shahnaz to attend a global festival at Britain to showcase her herbal beauty products. Stepping into the international market meant competing with already established European and American beauty giants.
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Giving a push
Shahnaz was apprehensive. "But Mrs Gandhi told me, 'The criteria of judgment should be to educate the world about India. If you do not go, they will never know. I will take care of everything' and she did," says Shahnaz.

Gandhi sent a two-line message to the Indian embassy in London. When Shahnaz reached London two months later, with her products neatly packaged, it was a sell-out. "Of course the icing on the cake for the See India Exhibition, as it was named, was that Mrs Gandhi was to herself inaugurate it. But she came four days late. By then, my products were sold out. When she saw empty cartons and no products on display, she was very pleased."

Gandhi also helped Shahnaz organise a series of government-promoted press conferences. "Mrs Gandhi told me come back after hoisting our Indian flag there," says Shahnaz fondly.

Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Shahnaz Husain at Hotel Ashoka

Security hurdles
Gaining access to the Gandhi residence wasn't easy even for a regular like Shahnaz Husain. She remembers, "I could see that Mrs Gandhi was giving an interview on the lawns of her house. I was struggling at the gate, undergoing all sorts of checks. When I finally entered, Mrs Gandhi asked what took me so long, and I said the security checks because perhaps I look suspicious. To that, she joked, 'Not suspicious, but different from everyone else!'"

On another instance, Gandhi asked her a query about a bottle of cleanser lying near her. When Shahnaz got up to go near Gandhi, three security personnel rushed in suddenly through the door. "I was taken aback, but Mrs Gandhi told them it is okay and they left. They were probably watching her through hidden security cameras. After that, I stayed back for coffee. I needed one," says Shahnaz with a laugh.
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Duty over death
Shahnaz says Gandhi was strict, even about a death in the family. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was happening in Delhi. Gandhi wanted Shahnaz to keep the wives of the visiting dignitaries company by educating them on ayurveda.

However, on the day of the event, Shahnaz lost her father. She rushed an assistant with a note to Gandhi stating, "The man I worshipped is no more. My father passed away. I can't make it to the function." Gandhi sent another note saying, "I also worshipped my father the way you did, but remember your father would have expected you to do what was right. See you at luncheon."

"It was an instruction. With my father's body at home, I left to attend the function wearing big sunglasses to cover my swollen red eyes. Mrs Gandhi met me at lunch and said, 'What you are doing today is what you owe your country.' She never forgot what I did that day and she often told me so," says Shahnaz.
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Sharp humour
The Iron lady also had a subtle sense of humour. Shahnaz found out through her assistant Nathu that Gandhi used a moisturiser that had wild lily as its base. She went back to her factory and made a wild lily moisturiser called Shamoist, which was chemical-free. Shamoist became the hottest seller. Later, Shahnaz told Gandhi, "I made it for you because you used a different moisturiser brand." Gandhi joked, "You owe me a royalty then!"

A soft heart
Gandhi never came on the phone personally to talk to Shahnaz, but she always knew what was happening. One time, when Shahnaz came down to Mumbai for a medical check-up, she got a call from Gandhi's office inquiring about her health. "She was an iron lady to the world, but she was beautiful inside. I went through a nervous breakdown when she died," says Shahnaz softly, as she conjures up the last images of Gandhi talking in the lawns of her house under a huge colourful umbrella... just two days before she was killed.