My Friend Sophia

I do believe that people come into our lives for a Reason, Season or a Lifetime.  This is about my friend from Childhood, Sophia. If I have to talk about her, I will have to start with my mother.   Her Mother and my Mother were best friends.  My parents came from remote villages in Coorg, where everything was simple.  When they migrated to Bangalore, they must have felt, completely out of their element, more so for my mother. Bangalore, was a hodgepodge of different people and in the 70's, to find someone speaking the same language/dialect as you was difficult.  Sophia’s mother was the first one to befriend my mother.  My mother still talks of Benny(Sophia’s Mother) with a lot of affection.

I remember my mother being “Sick” when her Mother passed away, for many days.   I was about 4 years old(or maybe younger). I couldn’t understand what happened.   We never met often but I thought of Sophia often.  You see, she was one of very few people in my life at that time who knew they were older than me, yet didn’t Boss over me and somehow I knew she was Special.   It felt good to be around her or just talk to her, and I believe that hearts don’t lie.  After her Mother passed, she went to live with her Grandmother and aunt in Mumbai(then Bombay).  Through my school and college phase, we’ve maintained contact via letters and emails.  Everytime she came to visit her Father, we met and spent a little time with each other.  It felt right, and good. I enjoyed her company, shes articulate, kind, generous and has an appetite for knowledge in all forms.  Apart from my classmates from school, she is the one who has been in my life forever.

There are a lot of things about her that makes her dear to me.  One of the things I admire about Sophia is her willingness to experiment with ideas and work to make them a reality.  In my experience, it’s a small percentage of people in this world who are both, thinkers and doers.  Most fall into one or the other category.

Sophia and her friend Shashi decided to open Shambhavi – a Gym for Women in Nasik, Maharashtra.  It was so well received by the women that it earned an article on the local newspaper - The Nashik Times, a supplement of the Times of India- Nashik Edition.

Before I post the Newspaper, here is a little about Sophia, her Business Partner Shashi Bangera and the Beginnings of Shambhavi, in Sophia’s own words.

“Shashi Bangera - There are a list of adjectives that describe this unconventional Aquarian (Born 22 jan 1960) – highly spiritual, spends hours in meditation, full of life and energy, ‘Krishna’ bhakt, extremely enthusiastic, lover of life, sensitive, intuitive, can get along well with both the kids of the neighbourhood and their grannies and everybody else in between varying from the rickshaw drivers to the dhobis to the watchmen. Ever willing to be of help. Fiercely independent, she started living on her own since the age of 19. She has had a colourful life filled with varied experiences, some of which defy belief. Intermittent ‘shayar’ (poet). Lover of music.  Has worked in the field of fitness for the last 17 years. Out of these, the first 12 were spent in Bombay, managing gyms there, which included supervising the men’s section too.  She has been with Shambhavi since its inception.

Sophia Andrade Kapadia -  Born 9 feb 1970.  Like the proverbial rolling stone, I have tried many occupations and businesses till I found my groove with Shambhavi. It has rooted me and at the same time given me wings to fly. It has given the ring of ‘purpose’ to my life.

I have done courses in yoga and naturopathy. I am a voracious reader and I try to apply this knowledge and the diverse talents I possess in my work. It has given me a deeper understanding about women, their thoughts, their aspirations, the shackles that bind them, the difficulties they face and their fears.

SHAMBHAVI – Empowering women

The seed of starting this venture came from the thought that as women, we are forever putting ourselves last in line. We think of others, husband, kids, in-laws, relatives, the boss, office colleagues and sundry and then if at all give some attention to ourselves. This is highly imbalanced and in turn skews up our life. Instead, if we seek to fulfill our various roles while not neglecting ourselves, we are able to be better human beings feeling joyful and fulfilled in our lives.

This is how TULA was born on February 5, 2004. The word ‘Tula’ stands for balance. It also means ‘for you’ in Marathi, the state language of Maharashtra. The tagline was TULA – balancing a woman’s life.

Must say it was an uphill task and many a time, bowing to the pressures, we felt like chucking it all up. What stopped us from doing so is that although we had to struggle to pay up our bills, the work was highly rewarding and gave us tremendous job satisfaction.

Deep into our fourth year, we kept getting messages and intuitions to go in for a change of name. On one of our visits to Baba Nityananda’s Ashram at Ganeshpuri, we even came across the name – Shambhavi.

However, the hassles of paperwork involved in going for a name change and skepticism, made sure that I kept putting off this task. Finally push came to shove and on April 6 2008, we formally changed the name to Shambhavi. “SHAMBHAVI – empowering women”

‘SHAMBHAVI’ has many meanings. It symbolizes the Divine, Feminine aspect of the Universal Energy, that is nurturing and creative, the counterpart of Shiva.

I must say it has had a good effect. The very sound of the word Shambhavi emanates energy. Good things are happening. And the future looks very promising."

Now for the Newspaper –

Heres to Sophia and Shashi - May your Intentions come to Fruition.