Born on 25th November 1924 in Patiala, Ramma Bans is the fitness guru and weight-loss pioneer, credited with introducing aerobics to India. She is responsible for setting up five-star ambience health clubs for the Taj Group, Welcome Group and Oberoi Hotels.

Ramma trained in London in beauty therapy in the 1960s and returned to Delhi in 1967 to start her own beauty salon, which was patronised by the diplomatic corp. She has worked with Sathya Saran, the magazine editor, to put Miss India on the world map, by training the competitors to keep fit. She has been Indira Gandhi’s beautician and her aerobic classes have been attended by Bollywood’s glitterati, from Dimple Kapadia to Rani Mukerji. Ramma and Rekha, the Bollywood legend, produced a documentary on the mind and body temple, with profits going to children with disabilities.

Ramma believes that “we have a body that serves us 24 hours a day, and we should serve this God given infrastructure for at least one hour a day and keep ourselves fit.” Her maxim in life is, “if you want to see what your thoughts were like yesterday look at your body today. It you want to see what your body will be like tomorrow look at your thoughts today.”