A story of our journey :
It was when Uma was contemplating to start building Upasana, that she came face to face with how business units are set up in Auroville. From approvals, to permissions, to sending proposals to the Auroville Committee, she went through the entire process, through her share of ups and downs.
While Uma felt like the richest woman on the planet, with the money she had received, her naivety made her believe she could build a palace with her financial resources. She confesses that it was an energetic space to be in, where she felt larger than life, with the support that she received. She says, “It was a very promising space to be in and I’m very grateful for experiencing that.”
Upasana then wrote a proposal, in the form of a building application to the Auroville Committee. While Uma was ready to go ahead with materialising her dream, it was the board that was going to have their final say. The development group meeting took place, and it was here that they analysed her financial resources and questioned her, saying that she barely had a lakh, and was dreaming about constructing a building, without being aware of the logistics of it.
While in her mind she had enough money, to build a historical monument, this experience shattered her beyond words. That was the time when Upasana was already operating from Bliss Community, where Manoj lived. It had no water, no electricity. With reluctance she says, “It was Engey’s support that made this idea sprout, to make our building, which will have roof, electricity and water and a wall and protected place to work. We were in a jungle, under a tree and things we all open and there was no protection”.
Universe sent tap on the back. Upasana was supported by various people, in many different ways, over a period of time. While money was a constraint, one of the most important, defining moments that changed the course of Uma’s dream, was when she found herself at the Solar Kitchen, a restaurant in Auroville, and felt a hand tap at her back.
The words that followed truly landed from a space of divinity. The lady asked Uma, “You had a dream. You wanted to do something. Do you still have that dream?”. While Uma was going through trying times with creating Upasana, she considers this gesture as being god sent. She then replied, “Well I have a dream but all these dreams they also need means. And I don’t have the means, I have just dreams.”
And as though the universe was listening, the lady brought a cheque of Rs.20000 and went on to say that she was going to give her the amount every month, with the intention that one day she could return it back, so it could go on to the next dream of someone else. This was a magical moment for Uma.
She said, “It blew my mind. I had not seen that kind of money.”
She further adds, “ I’m not sure if I have given this back to society. To back some risk taker and say move buddy”.
Along with the Rs.20000 Uma had, she also borrowed Rs.20000 from her brother, asking him to keep hush about it, and to not disclose to her father, that she intended to start a company or rather a unit inside Auroville. Every month she would receive Rs.20000 as a rolled up cheque, which made her feel like the richest woman on the planet.
