Radiant Rekha with her sisters!

The excitement at seeing Rekha in person was evident on all the faces who eagerly awaited her arrival at the Wellness Plus Clinic at the Apollo Hospitals in Chennai. It was a matter of pride for the hospital to have a person who usually abstains from public events to inaugurate one of their new clinics.

The moment she stepped off the lift on the fourth floor of the hospital, the flashbulbs flashed non-stop. Rekha also posed with her sisters, Dr Kamala Selvaraj (extreme left) and Narayani Ganesan for photographs.

Dr Selvaraj runs the GG Hospital in Chennai, which is famous for the treatment of infertility problems.

In an off white sari and long blouse, Rekha looked radiant. She wore minimal jewellery -- a single diamond bangle and a ring on her finger.

She looked so slim that everyone gathered unanimously agreed that she was the right person to inaugurate such a clinic. Dr Pratap Reddy, Chairman of the Apollo Hospitals remarked later, "Who else is better than Rekha to inaugurate a wellness plus clinic?"

Even after cutting the ribbon, she stood with scissors in hand, obligingly smiling at the cameras. Once inside, she lit the lamp, talking in Tamil to Dr Reddy and some others around her. After a visit to the clinic and the gym, she was escorted by the photographers to the conference hall where the press and Chennai's glitterati had gathered.

On the dais, the 50-year-old Rekha and 70-year-old Dr Reddy looked much younger than their real age. Invocation, welcome address and presentation about the clinic by Dr Srinidhi Chidambaram (daughter-in-law of Finance Minister P Chidambaram) concluded, Dr Reddy took over. "I told Rekha, whom I know for a very long time and whose father (Gemini Ganesan) was a personal friend of mine, that she was looking more beautiful, more glamorous and more ravishing than ever before. My wife says she looks much younger than what she did 20 years ago."

The Wellness Clinic offers an entire range of Alternate Medicine -- Ayurveda, Pranic healing, Music Therapy, Aroma Therapy, yoga, meditation, acupuncture and acupressure.

Rekha told Dr Reddy after accepting an honorary lifetime membership for Wellness Plus, "I hope you will start this kind of a clinic in Mumbai as soon as possible."

Text: Shobha Warrier
Photographs: Sreeram Selvaraj