It’s hard to forget your roots, ask Anjona Mustafi. She was born in Darjeeling and raised in Sikkim and much later, like many from the Northeast, left home for greener pastures. Destiny would take her to Hyderabad, where she teamed up with an investor to open a boutique spa in the heart of the upscale Banjara Hills neighbourhood. Courteous staff from the Northeast usher you as soon as you enter and ensure that everyone who walks in receive optimal services.
Mustafi, born of a Sikkimese mother and a Bengali tea planter father, settled down with a Hyderabadi and has, over the past two decades, emerged a seasoned hand in the wellness industry. “I came to Hyderabad in 2008 to be a pre-opening member of the Ananda Spa institute in the city. Prior to that, I was a spa director with Mandarin Oriental in Manila, Philippines,” says Mustafi, who got into the wellness industry as a pre-opening spa and wellness team member at Ananda in the Himalayas in 1999.
“We were the first batch of professionally trained therapists in India,” she recalls. With a work experience at several award-winning luxury properties including Ananda in the Himalayas, Ananda Spa Institute, Mandarin Oriental, Aman Resorts, and Chiva-Som International Academy, the qualified therapist comes armed with CIBTAC and CIDESCO accreditations and specialises in a range of holistic techniques. She has held management level positions at various spa operations, too.
Despite her success, Mustafi’s enterprise remains rooted in the essence of the soil she hails from. She made it a point to incorporate elements of Sikkim in her wellness therapy. She fuses the well-being principles of East with a specific focus on holistic rejuvenation. Elements of singing bowls, hot stones and soulful music transport one to another space and time. No wonder, within a few months of opening, Hyderabad’s discerning crowd is already making a beeline to experience this brand new spa.
Apart from being an expert in her field, she is an ideal teacher, too, passionate about training newcomers and sharing her skills and knowledge. She offers training expertise to recognised hotels and resort brands across the Asia Pacific region including the Park Hyatt, Atmantan Wellness Resorts, Aman Resorts, Mandarin Oriental and Ananda in the Himalayas.
Her success, Mustafi tells you, lies in the success of those who learn from her. She particularly looks forward to creating opportunities for people from the Northeast, even as she continues towards her goal of setting up a training culture that paves way for a professional spa service which blends personalisation with an eye for detail.
In a conversation with The Northeast Stories, the wellness ace tells us why people hailing from the Northeast have a natural flair to excel in the profession.
What are the attributes that make people from Northeast suited for a service industry, particularly wellness?
People in the Northeast are blessed with a natural flair for being wellness therapists because I feel they are very warm, caring and hospitable people who also grow up in a community-based, family type of society with elders, whom we take care of. Also, they bring with them the power of touch by having warm healing hands, which is necessary to be wellness therapists. Their ability to speak well and their love of exploring the world makes them more suited to travel around to take up this job.
You have trained over hundreds of young people from the Northeast in wellness. What are the scope and future of young professionals from the region in the wellness industry?
My second tenure with Ananda in the Himalayas as a pre-opening team member happened at their Ananda Spa Institute in Hyderabad, from 2008 to 2013. In the role of a senior lecturer, I had an opportunity to teach, train and groom many young people from the Northeast, many of whom have done well all across the globe, working in very prestigious hospitality chains. Also, I was responsible for campus placements of all students after completion of course, and most luxury brands came to Ananda Spa Institute looking for the best talents in the country.
I think there is a huge gap in the wellness skill sector in India and we look mainly at the Northeast and Kerala for skilled talent. This leaves a huge opportunity for the youth of the Northeast in this wonderful care-giving wellness industry. If they come with college degrees, they can also evolve in the area of spa management and training in a short span of time, and travel all around the world on work.
Why did you decide on opening a boutique spa in Hyderabad?
Meeting a likeminded business partner was one of the main reasons for opening Arome. Also, Hyderabad was lacking in a luxury space one could call a secret haven or sanctuary, where mental and physical relaxation are taken into account beyond mere regular massage. It is a space for people who truly look at wellness as a way of life and not just a massage or a rubdown.
Since I am an aroma therapist, we use the help of powerful essential oils to look after the emotional, mental and physical aspects of our clients. Mostly, this type of an environment is only found in resorts or luxury five-star hotels. So we make it possible to get a similar luxury experience in our Arome studio.
Our USP is since we have a limited studio space, we take fewer bookings and focus and personalise the experience for each of our clients. It’s more about offering the luxury of time, nurturing and nourishment in each session so that the client doesn’t feel like they were rushed around. At Arome, everything is made with love although it's a small space. Our cups and glasses were custom designed by an exclusive ceramic pottery design house called Mattipilla and our uniforms are made by Sonam Dubal, who owns the fashion brand Sanskar. Also, since I am a wellness trainer, we are able to train people from the Northeast who are looking to start their career with the best values and standards of service.
