Gnash your teeth, gnaw your nails, mist your mirror demanding to know, HOW does Feroze Gujral manage to stay so gorgeous? Despite it all. Despite living abroad most of her young life thanks to a father who worked for a big MNC (Egypt, England, Algiers, France)? Despite being a child bride at 17 (to Marvellous Mohit, dashing architect, nice-looking dude, son of two Beautiful Parents, Kiran and Satish Gujral)? Despite being a hands-on Mommy to a teenage son and daughter? Despite having been through three distinct careers, as an Indian supermodel, as a designer/retailer of designer tableware, as a dotcom personality? Despite maintaining a picture-perfect home in a well-located apartment building on Delhi’s South End Lane? With so many silver spoons stuck in her mouth, she ought to be a spoilt, ill-mannered MONSTER. That’s the pattern, right?Not ‘Fizzy’, whom inventive ad-man Prahlad Kakkar describes emphatically as ‘‘a real lady’’.‘‘I’ve been laughed at for being too prim and proper, but I think a lot of who I am comes from my strict upbringing with its emphasis on baths, sleep times, manners, on saying Sorry and Thank You, on speaking politely, on seeing my guests off properly, on writing thank you notes for presents. I absolutely insist that my children do these things too. I want my daughter to sit properly, learn to accept compliments gracefully, deal charmingly with people and appreciate herself. I don’t use foul language or talk dirty in front of men,’’ says Feroze seriously.But what makes her so darn lovely at an age when most women start crumpling from the wear and tear of the dolce vita?‘‘I don’t smoke and I don’t drink, though I like my friends better after one drink — they loosen up on their inhibitions.’’What about food, Feroze? You are what you put inside yourself, right?‘‘Lots of my memories are attached to food. My Hyderabadi grandfather’s cook made special doodh ke pedey for me. My mother always served mixed Indian: I’ve grown up on chicken tikka and spaghetti. At boarding school I used to fill hot water in my tooth mug to pour over Maggi noodles. Even now, if I smell noodles, I smell the pines at Sanawar! Or cold coffee. neither Mohit nor I drink it, but that’s what he asked me out for the first time. Lactogen and gripe water — they evoke the first thrill of motherhood, I’d drain my kids’ bottles. I’m a great eater, a good eater.’’Then how does she stay so elegantly slim?‘‘My basic habits are good. No red meat. Nor do I like stuff like ghia, tinda, tori, baingan, roti, dal. I love palak, gobi, beans, bhindi and peas. Lots of sweets and chocolates! I drink tons of milk with kesar and haldi, I adore seafood. Mostly, we tend to eat a lot of what’s there in front of us: mom-in-law’s specialities, office samosas, whatever. But look at what you ate between 18 and 20 — lots of small snacky meals through the day, not three large meals, right? Figure out what you ate then, it was your best time. Eat what you really like, little bits through the day.’’And her beauty regime?‘‘Clean, clean, clean. Drink lots of water. Exercise. I find most foreign products are too light for us, so Lakme works well for me.’’(Special Feature)
