When your passion becomes your work and sharing knowledge about your field comes naturally, your job turns into a pleasurable task – a home-like feeling that you love coming back to. There are not many who feel like this about their work, but it was truly refreshing meeting Urvashi Mehta, who while may be the GM – Sales and Marketing at Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort in Kerala, is truly a thorough wellness enthusiast at heart – someone who runs to the kitchen in case of an emergency and not a medicine shop as she believes any ailment can be cured through naturopathy. BOTT welcomes her in the inaugural interview of our new category “Wellness Window”.
Priyanka Saxena Ray
While ‘job’ is a mundane name describing the task people do to earn a living, Urvashi bounces her way to work every morning because for her, work is her passion – a belief that she has grown to love and follow with a knowledge and command on the field, that few can claim. Her professional journey started in 1998 with Holiday Inn Hotels & Carlson Hospitality where she learnt the basic fundamentals of the hospitality industry and enjoyed her tryst with the travel trade in India. It was in 2008 that she got introduced into the world of “wellness” and life has never been same for her since. A landmark in wellness industry back then, Urvashi learned all about the field from her mentors at Ananda in the Himalayas where she worked for 7 years. From absorbing all about the nuances of international branding and positioning to how Ayurveda is a natural extension of our inner self, Urvashi realised that her calling was wellness and that it is in this field alone that she will make her career.
“I embarked on my wellness journey with Ananda in the Himalayas creating footprints in this segment. Once it was well established, I moved on to positioning Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort in Kerala, which now is one of the top most sought-after destinations in India for wellness. Combining luxury with Ayurveda was then a challenging task and the management showed immense confidence in my skills and understanding of the wellness market,” she says humbly.
As stress and pressure gain momentum in our lives, the need for alternate therapies – be it in the form of Ayurvedic Healing or a Luxury Spa, act as perfect getaways for the tangled troubled souls (and muscles!). The rejuvenation market in India is estimated at 5 billion to 6 billion INR. Day spas account for half the market while destination spas, hotel spas and resort spas make up the rest. “I have been closely associated with the wellness industry since 15 years and it has been a fascinating journey. From being a spa junkie to understanding health from within, it has been a journey of immense learning on both personal as well as professional fronts. Moving away from the medicine cabinet to finding solutions to all ailments in our kitchens and health ingredients, it has been a great learning experience. Wellness is all about wellbeing of the mind, body and soul and it has immensely helped me to transform not only as an individual but also take on various challenges that one faces in our day to day life. Being healthy in the natural way cleanses our body using the age old principles of Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Nutrition, Meditation and Yoga and all of this has long term health benefits. In this fast paced technology driven lifestyle, going back to our age old techniques and following these principles of an organic lifestyle help me to stay centred, focused and energised,” says Urvashi passionately and just hearing her talk about wellness you realise how deeply she feels about the subject.
Incorporating health – in form of fitness or nutrition has become the need of every individual today. Studies in UK show that single woman traveller takes at least one wellness holiday every year focusing on her mind, body, soul connect. Also the trend is moving to young couples in their 30’s, who now seem to be more interested in taking health holidays, owing to their stressful lifestyles. And if you thought 30s was too young for wellness, well, current reports doing rounds highlight how teenagers should take their health seriously and spend some time of their day in maintaining the same.
From building brands like Ananda in the Himalayas and Carnoustie Ayurveda & Wellness Resort in Kerala, we have come a long way in positioning India as a wellness destination. Now with newer resorts opening up, which are focused on fitness and naturopathy, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that India has finally arrived with its own array of products for the discerning foreign traveller. It is the only segment in inbound tourism, which has grown exponentially by 34 per cent year on year. From high profile Bollywood celebs to famous Hollywood personalities, they are all eyeing India as a wellness destination for detoxification and rejuvenation programmes, making it one of the top 10 wellness destination across the world.
In addition to inbound, we also now see a trend where Indians are moving to renowned wellness centres across the globe for seeking treatment and are highly aware of their expenditure. They want to bring in a change in their lifestyles and holidays are no longer about just moving from one city to the other, but at a more relaxed pace at a destination spa with health benefits. The Indian market today stands open for the larger global brands to enter and make their mark. If estimates are to be taken seriously, wellness is expected to become a 6 trillion dollar industry by 2030.
“Wellness has greatly helped me in balancing my diverse roles of a daughter, wife, mother, family, work and social responsibilities. I am an avid traveller, voracious reader, lover of sufi music, wine connoisseur and spa junkie, besides modelling a career path for my 21 year old son, who is moving on to become an investment banker,” she adds with a smile and if you did have any doubts about the benefits of naturopathy, one look at Urvashi’s glowing skin, and they will all be put to rest. A happy and easy going lady, Urvashi learned living on her own terms by following the basic philosophies of life that she gathered from my parents – “Keep it short, sweet and simple”. It’s her mantra for a de-cluttered and uncomplicated lifestyle and well, we couldn’t agree more!
