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For brides-to-be, it’s scalpel before pheras
Rupam Jain
Ahmedabad, December 13: SAVITA Murarka, 25, is healthy, has an MBA from Australia
and comes from a well-to-do family of industrialists. Finding a suitable bridegroom
for her shouldn’t be difficult, you’d say.
But before her parents began match-making, she decided she needed to have her nose corrected by a cosmetic surgeon. ‘‘My nose used to be a bit flat,’’ she says. ‘‘I feel much better now.’’ Savita also underwent complexion-lightening treatments, but she won’t disclose how much all that cost her.
She is more candid about why she took all the trouble: ‘‘Marriage is a market where girls and boys are treated as products. Girls with good looks can easily find a better half who’s tall, handsome, wealthy.’’
Before lining up prospective grooms, many girls in Gujarat like Savita are queuing up at clinics of dermatologists and plastic surgeons. When it began some four years ago, the trend was restricted to the rich, but now even middle-class brides-in-the-making submit to the scalpel to seek beauty. And one reason driving this need to look good is the demanding NRI groom and the very Gujarati urge to settle abroad.
Dr Naina Sharad, a plastic surgeon in Ahmedabad, says she gets five to six girls in their early twenties every month. ‘‘They want facial corrections, breast enhancements, liposuction for the hips and thighs,’’ she says. ‘‘They’ll pay anything for flawless skin and sharp features.’’ Facial-correction surgery might cost anything from Rs 20,000-50,000 per task, and skin treatments Rs 5,000-35,000, adds Sharad.
Says Dr Anil Chadha, a senior plastic surgeon and superintendent of New Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad: ‘‘Every now and then parents come and tell me to make their young daughter look good as they want her to settle abroad.’’
Dr Chadha, president of the Gujarat Plastic Surgeons’ Association which has about 60 members, says that at a recent meeting, the members reported an increase in the number of young patients coming in for cosmetic surgery — he won’t say how much — and that most of these were girls. He adds that the trend is worrisome as girls gave primary importance to their appearance for non-medical reasons.
For Divya Thakkar, the stretch marks on her upper arm and loose skin at some places — the result of weight-loss during her teens— were not minor things. ‘‘I opted for plastic surgery before seeking a partner,’’ says Thakkar, who’s now getting married to a UK-based boy in January.
Twenty-two-year old Devika Sehlat (name changed)is a commerce graduate and pursuing a course in jewellery designing in the city. She approached Dr P.K. Bilwani, who heads Gujarat Burns Hospital, as she felt that her nose was not in proportion with her face and that she would not look good with a nosepin after marriage. ‘‘She went against my advice and opted for the surgery, which was performed by my colleague,’’ says Dr Bilwani.
While Devika refuses to divulge details of the surgery, she admits: ‘‘I want to look great, feel good and unique on my wedding day.’’
Sal Hospital in Ahmedabad has a seperate department for plastic surgeries. Its head Dr Ashit Shah says they treat 12 to 15 young girls every month. This figure does not include patients who come for correction of deformities suffered in burns and accidents.
Doctors in the business say girls prefer going to private practitioners over hospitals for reasons of privacy and secrecy. Many doctors conduct the procedure in their own clinics, rather than in the hospitals with which they are associated.
Plastic surgeons say they warn patients that no treatment can guarantee 100 per cent positive results but that most are not willing to listen. ‘‘If the patients need minor corrections then we try to avoid surgery,’’ says Dr Himanshu Vora, who gets at least ‘‘two-three patients seeking breast enhancement or reduction’’ every month.
Dr Bhilwani says he comes across ‘‘absolutely normal-looking girls who request me to make them look like Aishwarya Rai or Amisha Patel’’.
Non-invasive skin treatments too can go wrong. ‘‘My face looked like a watermelon,’’ regrets 26-year-old Anjali Maitri (name changed), whose skin developed hyper-pigmentation after she underwent ‘‘chemical peeling’’ for fairness despite warnings. She had to go to the US for a second round of treatment.
Psychologist Aparna Mitra explains the belief system that drives the young to take such risks: ‘‘Good looks can get you a job, make your presence felt, and get you a rich and handsome husband.’’ Sadly, points out Dr Bilwani, parents are more than willing to support this, even foot the bill.