Pouring Wealth into Health

Diksha Grover

DEHRADUN, October 12, 2008

Wealth and Health have always been synonymous and also complementary. Let’s just say, that fitness industry has picked up speed in Dehradun because of its wealth. Be it schools, hotels, beauty clinics or even real-estates, physical equipments for slimming and trimming are all a by product of the money that people are ready to pay.

For Rajdeep Singh, a gym instructor at Body Care Gym, “Fitness is in. People are ready to control diet, loose calories and pick up weights to look slim.” When asked about the pain of paying for such therapies, Rajdeep had a very genuine reply, “In spite of the green Dehradun that has almost everything natural to offer, people take pride in paying for the treatment.”

Madhuban Hotel for instance, has a health care center inside the hotel that invites any localite to pay Rs. 250 plus tax for a single sitting in the gym. Moreover, they also offer body massage and spa treatments for Rs. One thousand plus tax. With almost a 40 per cent of the hotel guests also using the health center, no wonder there are other options like body scrubbing and health spas available inside the health center.

Apart from hotels, schools that have gyms are comparatively a better option from the ones that don’t, because they keep the child fit. According to Mamta Chaudhry, the mother of a ten year old, who is also looking out for a better schooling for her child, “ I am trying to find a better school that not just helps my child better his marks but also keeps him active in sports which keeps him healthy and fit. So I definitely would prefer sending my child into a school with gym.”

‘Beauty parlor’ is an old word now. Doonites have certainly moved onto Beauty shops and Beauty Clinics. With various slimming centers and skin toning centers, we sure are getting over-night healthy. Dr. Archana Gulati, from Perfect Look says, “People want to look good. For youngsters, fitness is more about becoming slim and therefore, they get into wrong eating practices. However, for the elder generation, fitness is about health. In order to motivate this working social class, I may perform liposuction.”

The aspects of fitness also charm the real estate industry. An advertisement on ninetynine acres dot com glorified a 3 bedroom apartment near Sahasradhara road with the luxury of 24 hour power supply, swimming pool and gym. The real estate associate in Delhi, Rajesh, had one observation from the market trends, “People come to Dehradun to enjoy their vacations. When they find the same facility available in the lap of nature, they love to purchase what we sell. Plus, fitness has occupied a large amount of the market forces.”

Health and fitness have had a taste into the economy. This field is sure to flourish in Dehradun, where the payers and payees have no problem with the payment.

Published in Hindustan Times, Dehradun