One of India’s most formidable beauties passed away earlier this month. The odd thing is she would absolutely hate this obituary; she hated being written about and avoided publicity for all of her nine decades. Indira Aswani was 93 when she died. But anyone who encountered her, even briefly, was in such awe of her grace and poise, and one could not but remember her forever.
Aswani was the wife of Pessumal Aswani, an ultra wealthy Sindhi businessman with global interests, especially between Africa and India. Along with Sunita Pitamber, Uma Dubash and Parmeshwar Godrej, Indira Aswani made for the golden quartet of Bombay’s grand dames. They were very wealthy wives, renowned hostesses and upholders of the highest echelons of privileged society. They existed before Instagram, or the internet, or the glut of gushing glossy magazines. They entertained fabulously, wore international fashion, collected art before it was an acquisition, they could sniff an antique from far away, simply because it probably came back with them in one of their 10 suitcases. Their drawing rooms were where you met India’s nation builders, American presidents, Hollywood stars and a sprinkling of royalty from across the world. You almost never read about these evenings. If you knew you just knew, before it became a hashtag.
Aswani lived in a South Bombay duplex apartment, with her husband and her five children. She was mother to Minal Modi (the late wife of IPL founder and Godfrey Phillips scion Lalit Modi); African art expert and adviser to the Tate museum Kavita Chellaram, wife of NRI businessman and Rajasthan Royals owner Suresh Chellaram; Divya Aswani; renowned interior designer Priya Aswani; and Ravi Aswani. Ravi’s wife Margarita is a deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Indira Aswani with daughter Priya
Indira aunty, as known to a whole generation of Mumbai, was a silver-haired maven. She became a touchstone of elegance, thanks to her understated lifestyle and penchant for perfectionism. Her children’s friends remember that the food in her kitchen outdid any well-ranked French restaurant.
Each evening, Aswani would be a vision taking her hour-long walk at Mumbai’s racecourse. She would always be dressed in pristine white. She would often say that her morning prayers and evening walk were the secret to her timeless beauty. She wouldn’t miss her prayers and walk wherever she would travel in the world.
Aswani made chiffon saris, white linen shirts and elegant diamonds a woman’s must-haves. It sounds simplistic today, but so much of what we understand as old-world elegance was a template set by women like her. She was an original tastemaker.
Designer Tarun Tahiliani was greatly influenced by Aswani and her daughter Minal, who he considered his muse. “My mother and some naval wives would go to Indira aunty’s home as her secretary would organise a sale of French chiffon saris. Indira aunty always had an aura, she was exquisitely beautiful and had an innate style. Even if you met her early in the morning, you couldn’t keep your eyes off her,” remembers Tahiliani.
The designer says she always wore simple chiffons, tailored pants and Manolo Blahnik shoes. “Despite her wealth, she was so kind, gracious and encouraging of people. I always wanted to photograph her and Minal for my campaigns, and they would always say they dressed up for themselves, not for others,” he smiles. “They hated not being private. For the Sindhi community in India, Indira Aswani was the last word.”
Tahiliani says Aswani was a lesson in hosting. Even the way a bowl of fruit or a glass of water was served, it was presented in the most decorated manner. “I hate the word royalty, but they were bigger than that,” he says.
Today’s rich like to show their worth, their private functions are for public consumption. Aswani takes with her a long-held tradition of discretion and mystery that India’s tastemakers possessed.
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