SECOND LIFE
More to life than beauty
SANGEETA BAROOAH PISHAROTY
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You may identify her with cosmetics and the beauty industry, but Shahnaz Hussain is also a painter and poet.
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Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury
Very personal: Paintings and poetry keep her going.
Shahnaz Husain. “Well, my name is a brand now,” the lady does nothing to hide her pride in the fact. Way back in the1980s, the Delhiite made not just her country but the world stop and take note of her whole range of herbal cosmetics.
And even today, you may not know her latest product but you do know her — she of the big, round eyes, flowing hair, flashy clothes and jewellery, oversized bags, and a measured smile. For years together, she seems to look the same. So surreal, so extraordinary.
Poetry
Though we identify her with herbal cosmetics and also with the creation of the beauty parlour culture in the furthest nooks of India, Shahnaz takes you by surprise when she says she has interests other than beauty care. “Very few people know that I write poetry, that I also paint,” she says in her inimitable rasping voice. And before you can blink, she recites a poem she wrote in her 11th standard senior Cambridge examination. “Life is a Dream – a Delusion; But alas the dreamer must awake; A lovely reflection in the mirror; But alas the mirror must BREAK!”
Even as you gauge the depth of the lines, she declares, quite self-satisfied, “I topped in English that year.” Always interested in English literature, she says Shakespeare and Keats are her all-time favourites.
Publishing her verses is not her aim, adds Shahnaz. “I write poetry when I am stressed out, when I feel lonely. It is very personal. When my husband passed away, poetry was my sole companion.”
That is true of her painting too. “I paint when I feel like it. I have never learnt from anyone. It makes me so relaxed,” she says. Shahnaz uses oil paints and her subjects vary according to her mood.
Not for sale
Many seem to have been interested in buying her paintings, but the lady states, “I tell them, these are not for sale. These are for me.” Her ornate house in South Delhi is full of her paintings. “It is so satisfying,” she adds with half a giggle.
Having been in the business for decades now and also exporting her beauty products to dozens of countries, Shahnaz says she needs to keep her travel bag ready always. “Our products are kept in stores like Harrods and Selfridges in London, galleries like Lafayette in Paris, the Seibu chain in Japan, Bloomingdales in New York, La Rinascente in Milan as well as exclusive outlets, clinics, shops and spas worldwide. So I need to travel a lot. My biggest regret now is that I hardly get to spend time with my family and also with my hobbies.”
Giving credit to her father for not only her success but also for teaching her a lesson or two about remaining grounded despite success, she ends the conversation with a few lines from one of her poems. “What is earthly success but a passing flame; For a time it burns high and bright; Like Eden glimpsed through a veil of smoke; Then it is out of sight…” Insightful?
This column features the little-known aspects of personalities.
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