ANISHA BURMAN MWAMBAZI

A CREATIVE FORCE, THE SCION OF THE PRESTIGIOUS BURMAN CLAN TALKS ART, MARRIAGE AND THE VARIED QUALITIES SHE IMBIBED FROM HER FAMILY

- SHRADDHA CHOWDHURY

For six generations since 1884, the Burman family has been synonymous with reliance, well-being and philanthropy. They are the brains behind the billion-dollar consumer goods giant, Dabur. The youngest in the storied Burman tribe are Aditya and Anisha, the children of former Dabur chairman Anand Burman and Minnie Burman. While Aditya stayed with the family business, a director at the firm, Anisha steered her life on an entirely different path.

An artist who’s been based in London for 27 years, Anisha is a creative force to reckon with. She lives and breathes all things art and fashion and runs her own lifestyle brand, LesNiche, with her African husband, Leslie Mwambazi. Did she ever have the inclination to join the family business?

“At some point, yes,” she shares. “But the business is run by professionals, and there are only a few key roles occupied by family members. This doesn’t leave a lot of room for everyone to be involved.”

Born in Delhi, where she lived till the age of 14, Anisha went to Modern School in Vasant Vihar, after which she transferred to the Bedgebury School for Girls, a boarding school in Kent, near London. She pursued Film Production, Marketing and Communication Studies at London’s Guildhall University, studied Communications and Media Studies at Regents College and got certified in Fashion and Pattern Cutting at Central Saint Martins.

Despite an extensive background in media and communication, Anisha found her true calling in art, her “escape in life”, as she describes it.