At the heart of Upasana is a spiritual quest, to transcend the limitations of the fashion industry, and reach a higher dimension, where the yarns of fabric weave a story with consciousness, beauty, and soul. It is within the contours of this idea, that Upasana thrives. It breathes through the clickety-clack of the handlooms, soaks in the richness of natural dyes and is on an ever evolving exploration of Indian textiles. The threads of sustainable design are intricately and firmly woven into Upasana.
The journey began in the midst of raw nature. Set in a forest, with no drinking water or sanitation, one of the foremost issues that needed to be addressed was the absence of infrastructure. The initial discussions weren’t about design or textiles, but rather centered around where men and women would attend the call of nature. The concerns of paramount importance were to do with whether they would have access to a pot with drinking water and regarding who would work for Upasana.
Though Uma and Manoj were both designers, Upasana was primarily Uma’s dream, with textiles and fashion being her area of expertise. While they were exploring the whole world of fashion, a field that is associated with the superficiality of life, they had a choice between moving to a new field or transforming the field they were in.
The challenge lied in bringing in deeper values into the existing field of fashion. The choice was clear, as Integral yoga demands for one to be in the field and transform it. “How does one do it in the right way?” was the question. While they were unaware of how it would unfold, they had the aspiration to bring their true calling into the action field, where the goal was to do it in an integral manner, where one is not in conflict internally and use this process to transform yourself and in turn help others.
Initially it was called Upasana design studio, where the vision from the very beginning was to create a space where people can come and explore creativity and find themselves. While resources were limited, Manoj was living on a maintenance of Rs.1500 which covered basic needs, while Uma worked as a volunteer for a year at Auromode.
To be contd.
