About our reason to being: through a name and a red dot

"How often do we allow silence to find us?

To listen to the space between our thoughts.

To move us, talk to us."

“ What started under a tree, today is a space that is accepted worldwide for creativity and design in all its forms.” It was in the wilderness of Auroville, a dream had taken shape in an unconventional setting and was materialized by Uma Prajapati Haimavati and Manoj Pavitran, as a garment manufacturing and design unit.

It is here in Auroville, at the Matri Mandir, under a sky full of divinity, that our co-creators found the name for a dream they envisioned together. Upasana was conceived, in the year 1997. They had agreed not to question or discuss it, and so she was named in silence. The literal meaning ‘Upa’ means near by, and ‘asana’ is to be seated. Together it means to be seated near your teacher. In a deeper context Upasana signifies the process of transforming yourself and connecting yourself with the whole.

Upasana’s logo has a story that is as powerful as her name. The red dot that is symbolic of Upasana, represents the bindi on an Indian woman’s forehead. It was our fascination for the bindi and the feminine, that eventually conformed to represent shakti in the shape of a red dot. The dynamic dimension of shakti is brought out by the pigment red. As time went by, a japanese connection to the logo was also discovered, which had to do with old memories and passports.

Upasana was founded on the fundamental principle, that the purpose of work is to serve as a means to develop inwardly. It is the inner growth that happens through work and that in turn enables an outer manifestation. It is in this context that Upasana came to be.