20th April 1997

Portrait of a beautiful woman

By Yvonne Gulamhusein

Sharmini Thiruchelvam

Imagine what it must be like to be an international celebrity, once called the most beautiful woman and sought after by famous painters, authors and artists in the fashion capitals of the world. Lankan beauty Sharmini Thiruchelvam has enjoyed these accolades, having been likened to that glamorous Hollywood film star of the forties Hedy Lamarr and famous British actress Vivien Leigh.

For Sharmini it all began when the world of art threw itself quite suddenly at her feet. It must have been awesome to a girl in her mid-teens! Sharmini was first discovered by Nicholas Egan, who met her at a dinner party given for Queen Fredrica of Greece by Princess Marie Gabrielle Von Urach Wurtemburg, niece of Queen Mary, Grandmother of Queen Elizabeth. Nicholas Egan asked her there at the party if he could include her in his forthcoming book of paintings and drawings, The Great Beauties Of Our Time.

After that Sharmini was photographed by the world famous photographer Annigoni for the first time in ’57. Later he photographed her seven times in a period of 21 years. The 3rd and 4th times were between ’62 and ’67 and that was when she became "a legend in her life time".

Annigoni said she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met and one of the most intelligent. Picasso, who also painted her said, "he did not care to know if she was so intelligent, she had all the luminous qualities of a woman in men’s dreams."

Said Sir John Rothenstein, former Director of the Tate Gallery: "If a collection of all the paintings, sculptures and drawings were ever collected in one place, it would make a priceless collection. There has not been anyone in the 20th century, who has been drawn or sculptured by so many of the greatest artists of this age.

The quote she values most is the one made by Lord Chandos (Oliver Lyttleton) who was the founder of the National Theatre of Great Britain, after whom the "Lyttleton Theatre" is named. It was he who said: "She is a mine of information, her range of subjects is vast. I have seen her hold her own with experts in a number of different fields, ranging from medicine to music, the history of art and current affairs".

Meeting Sharmini in Colombo last week, one finds her still vibrantly attractive.

We touched on haute couture and on Parisian designer Pierre Cardin and about his friend and one time partner David Sussman, who first saw Sharmini on stage in London at the Princess Theatre reciting poetry and orating. Since then, David his wife and kids, have all become her best friends.

Barbara Cartland, famous novelist and a fanatic on herbs and vitamins, whom she met in the early 70’s impressed her with her beauty secrets on looking good. She shared some of them with us. "Antioxidants and vitamins ‘A’, ‘C’ and ‘E’ together with Selenium will give a vital glowing look to your face and body. Take warm sunflower oil, mix together with a pinch of saffron and rub all over the body, then lie in a warm bath, at least once a week," said Sharmini, remembering the advice she received from her mother.

"Next take a tea bag after it has been brewed, add some diluted brewed tea water into it and refrigerate. This has a marvellous effect as an eye pad. The aloe vera, a plant you could easily grow in your garden, she pointed out, has many exceptional uses. "Take the jelly out of the aloe and massage it into the hair - at another time use a whole egg yolk for the same purpose - a whole egg also can be used as a face mask, mixed with oatmeal and a squeeze of lemon to keep wrinkles at baake a tall glass of luke warm water with a squeeze of lemon in it every morning. Turn on music for relaxation. Mood music is also wonderful to take off stress, at any time." Her advice is to use the natural ingredients instead of the marketed products.

Sharmini greeted me in an Indian printed magenta and coffee cream silk saree, draped in coorg style. Clasping her pallav to her blouse neckline was an enamel brooch of two magenta tulips, "from my collection of brooches," said Sharmini. Her long earrings were two glowing sea horses.

Sharmini comes and goes as she fancies, shuttling between her homes in Sri Lanka, where she stays with her cousin Mano Chanmugam, Malaysia and London.

The ancestral house in Moratuwa, where she was born, has been gifted to Mother Teresa by her maternal aunt Christelle Muttukumaru, said Sharmini.

Continue to Plus page 5 - A man of many colours

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