Credited with introducing aerobics and weight loss programmes in India, Bans started the country’s first health club and fitness centre way back in 1962.
Having worked behind the scenes with Indian film stars and beauty queens for years, fitness and beauty guru Ramma Bans passed away at the age of 86 on Saturday.
Credited with introducing aerobics and weight loss programmes in India, Bans started the country’s first health club and fitness centre way back in 1962.
Over the years, she was a beauty and fitness consultant to the likes of Bollywood actresses like Rekha and Dimple Kapadia and several beauty pageant winners, including Sushmita Sen, Rani Jeyaraj, Lymaraina D’Souza and Yukta Mookhey.
“Ramma ji’s wonderful exercise and diet programme helped me get in shape and win both the Miss India and Miss World titles,” says Mookhey, who immersed herself in her studies after winning the Miss India title and stopped her fitness regimen.
Two months before the Miss World contest, she was back to square one and had to approach Bans again. The beauty queen was put on a combination of aerobics and yoga, and a custom-made diet to lose the extra kilos.
“Within six weeks, I was ready to conquer the world,” she added.
Born on November 25, 1924 in Patiala, Punjab, Bans went to London in the 1960s to train in beauty therapy. She started her own salon in Delhi, which was patronised by diplomats and royalty.
Bans also set up health and fitness clubs for five-star hotels, including the Taj and Oberoi. In later years, she was closely associated with the Miss India pageant.
Yesteryear film star Saira Banu, who consulted Bans for grooming tips, recalls her as a modest person.
“She would attribute her success to luck. But it was her genuine concern for every single client that made her special,” she said.
Fitness instructor and life coach, Mickey Mehta feels that Bans was an institution in herself.
“She was the one who awakened people to the benefits of good health,” he says. Veena Bhatt, a beauty queen-turned-health instructor, agrees that Bans was a great role model. “We look up to Rammaji as the pioneer of health awareness in the country. Even at her age, she was fitter and more agile than a lot of younger people I know,” she added.
Ramma, who had married Bollywood actor and director IS Johar and later an aspiring actor Harbans Shivlok, is survived by her two children, Anil and Neelam.
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