The New Delhi office had protested that 27 hours in two days was too little, but I insisted they fix an itinerary on the basis and fax it to the spa. Within that time, I wanted to experience as much of Ananda In The Himalayas as it had to offer. The newest luxury resort in India, at its heart is a 21,000 sq ft spa, the first in India and, apparently, one of the most luxurious in the world.
"I felt exhausted just reading the programme," said general manager Sue Reitz, when I arrived there, an hour's journey by limousine from Haridwar, off the Dehra Dun-bound Shatabdi Express. Reitz was in typical resort clothes _ light cotton trousers and a billowing shirt, and looked less like a manager, more like a guest. Fortunately, I was allowed to alter the programme and immediately scratched out a two hour excursion to Rishikesh to view the evening aarti on the banks of the Ganga, and a three hour trip to Kunjapuri temple.
Located on the 100-acre estate of the former maharaja of Tehri-Garhwal, at Narendra Nagar, at a height of 2,900 feet, the entrance to the resort is the palace annex built in 1910 to house the Viceroy. Complete with a library of rare, eclectic books, a skating rink now turned into a multi-facility room, a board room, a memorial to Ma Anandmayi, and a presidential suite, this was as far as the `traditional' stretched. But in an electric golf cart, cruising sharply down past a squash court (pink and lilac walls), we could have been in any part of the world. With the exception of the view, that is. For even from that height, Rishikesh, cradled within the bends of the Ganga, was unmistakably Indian.
I was Reitz's guest for a lunch of penne and coffee after which she escorted me to meet the first of my consultants, Sanjay, a doctor who, with specialised training, is perhaps the most qualified Indian to be in charge of a spa. Having done a quick round of the building _ 13 treatment rooms, a grand reception, a spacious gym, relaxation rooms, saunas and hydrotherapy centres _ it was time for a reality check with Sanjay.
Did I smoke? No. Did I drink? Yes. How much? Moderately. Coffee? Uh-huh. How much? Too much. Hmm, exercise? Alas, no. What did I want from my too, too short spa visit? Some rejuvenation, toning up, even _ gulp! _ exercise. I was to rue that decision the next day, but for now Sanjay handed me over to the first of my therapists. Anjona was from Sikkim, she said, and like most of the therapists, had been trained for her job on site. My feet, currently, were the subject of her attention. Wrapped in warm oil, she pinched and prodded their soles while I dozed, waking when something caused a sharp pain in either the back or the gut. Massage over, Anjona explained the reflexology massage which, according to her, opens up the body to vibrations received from the nerve endings in the feet. Throat, nose, lungs, stomach and sundry other parts having been ministered from the soles of my body, I was provided a mug of herbal tea and asked to await my next therapist.
I was in for a lot of kneading under Shailesh's expert ministrations. Asked to choose from various aromas tested under my nose as I sat, feet soaking in a foot bath, my selection apparently corresponded with those associated with `rejuvenation' rather than `relaxation'. Feet still in the bath, the legs were now at the receiving end of an exfoliating papaya body polish, eliminating dry cells and clearing the skin of toxins. Next: an hour-long Swedish massage in which Shailesh pounded and pinched, beat and kneaded tired flesh to improve skin and muscle tone and soothe away knotted city cares. A series of indulgent facials followed, using Aveda products for which Ananda has an exclusive arrangement in India. It was next best only to the long soak back in the room, lying in the generous bath with its glazed wall overlooking Rishikesh as it twinkled into view in the velvet night outside.
Later, the resort manager Jayanth Rangan broke freshly baked bread on the wooden deck amidst the branches of sal trees outside the restaurant. Total, absolute silence filled the night, saved only by the chirruping of crickets or the hoot of an owl. Having gone through shrimp paste on sugarcane as an appetiser and baked pomfret, we were joined by Chef Gregg who sat and chatted about fat-free foods and spa diets. Lulled by the serenity, sleep came easily, and quickly, that night.
Just as well for I'd set myself an ambitious programme for the morning. Ginger herbal tea at 6.30 in the room was followed by a yoga session with Rishi in the music pavilion where, in a one-hour intensive programme, I found that deep breathing was enough to set the heart racing more effectively than a vigorous run. Having mastered the art of imitating, variously, a snake, a tree and a grasshopper, I was handed over for stretch-and-tone exercises to Shekhar who set me through the paces of his gym. I walked uphill and skiied downhill, and rowed in between for a break. I built my pectorals, expanded my abdomen, strengthened my shoulders, made my hams, flexed my biceps and triceps, not without noticing from the corner of the eye that Shekhar conveniently kept removing the weights to avoid my collapse into an exhausted heap on the floor.
Shekhar was my trek companion too for the one-hour hike when, attempting to clamber up like a mountain goat and failing miserably, I finally asked for a halt to the tortures of the morning. I was rewarded with an orange for my efforts. Turning back, it was embarrassing to find just how close to the resort we still were. Finally, having wended down to the restaurant on wobbly legs after spurning the offer of an electric cart, I was allowed breakfast_ waffle with fruit compote and two cups of coffee.
It was the coffee that my Ayurvedic consultant tutted over too, analysed my pulse as a kapha-vatha (water-air) type, and recommended a diet of herbal wines and foods with a bitter or astringent taste. Turn, then, for Pravin to bathe me in oil for a rigorous massage with sesame oil treated with herbs followed by sriodhara, the pouring of oil over the forehead in a steady stream.
Lunch, a short snooze in the room, and I was ready to leave to catch the Shatabdi back, wishing I could have Sanjay's team at my beck and call as the train wended its way through the northern plains towards the awaiting stresses of life in the capital.
