There was something about how things came together that was effortless, almost like it was ‘meant to happen’. Sayani had dreamt for two years of setting up a breakfast stall on the promenade of one of her favourite places in Udaipur, Fateh Sagar Lake. She wanted to offer healthy breakfast and a space for people from all backgrounds to converge. She voiced it, and then, somehow, everyone else took it up.
"Aiyyo Upma", as Anhad called it, unfolded on Christmas Morning. Selling 10 rupee plates of upma, making music and conversation, Anhad, the 5th batch of khojis, offered time and company to everyone on the street. Something happened, something that touched many people. Some people would call what she did a social experiment.
Here are excerpts from an interview with Sayani about what it was and how it came together. Read on to be inspired.
Can you describe how ‘Aiyyo Upma’ looked that morning?
Yes, it did not look like a breakfast stall at all. We were sitting like everyone else along Fateh Sagar lake. Some of us were singing, and playing music. Someone was standing, someone was talking... We had a big casserole with the upma and ‘donas’ to serve it with... we hadn’t made a proper signboard or anything. People who came didn’t feel like it was a market.
It wasn’t like a college assignment either. We were just there being ourselves. A lot of people were not even aware that we were selling something - they came because of the music and the energy.
I think that was welcoming for different kinds of people - Police walas, the usual morning walkers, hawkers. Some people came for 5-10 min and some hung around for an hour or two. A married couple sang duets to one other. There was a mother with her son and husband, she hesitated for a while and then started singing with us. The father and son had probably never seen her that way, happy, singing with strangers in public. Others stood at a distance, listening.
There was wonder and fascination that things like this can be done. People spoke about how places like this aren’t there anymore. There was no expectation and no intention from us, people could just come and be.
What was it that you wanted to create?
It was a happy place in my head, where there was music, there was food, a place open for all classes of people without bias. Fateh Sagar is a very special place for me and I really wanted to do this here in Udaipur, which is my hometown. There is no place here where you can get healthy breakfast. There is also no place to just hang out in, with sharing and creativity coming together, a place in which to experiment with new things, especially for the youth.
It was one of the many start up ideas I wanted to try two years back... At that time I was studying in Bangalore and experienced a divide between the North and the South Indians. Food is like a language, it can really help bring together cultures and communities. The idea was to serve South Indian food here to help bridge the gap.
That’s why we called this breakfast stall ‘Aiyyo Upma’ – since the ‘aiyyo’ exclamation is something that us north Indians associate with the south Indians.
What do you think made the space so magical?
All of us, individually and put together as a group... we were being ourselves, each doing something we enjoyed doing. For us it was fine to sing anything, to not talk even if people are talking. I was just singing, and my brain was telling me people are calling out to me, reply, but I was just singing. Basically I ended up ignoring people <Laughter>. This is new for people, an atmosphere of being laid back and comfortable and not trying to be any particular thing. That let them feel ok also about being however they wanted to be.
Was this about carrying out a social experiment?
I am suddenly hugging people a lot over here. Gift culture or hugging are things that many people haven’t even imagined to be possible. There’s so much about ourselves and how we live that we start seeing differently here at Swaraj. I really wanted to share this with others, at least with those that really matter to me. I wanted to challenge normally accepted codes of behaviour... ask questions like ‘How would this be instead?’
Social experiment, I got that in my head 2 months back. But if we go beyond the term, I just wanted to try out new things with people and see what happens. Especially with my family, sharing feelings, playing games together, watching a documentary is all something they are not used to. So no matter what platform or approach I take it will end up being a social experiment, right?
How did money play out in the Aiyyo Upma experiment?
Coming to Swaraj, we start thinking about making life simpler. I wanted to explore how much I really needed in order to live. I wanted to explore in what ways and with what emotions I wanted to make that living.
Here, we learnt amazing stuff about earning in a group. Everyone is in a different mindset so how do we not impose or dominate, and how do we make everyone feel heard? We had the space to experiment and learn.
It was also visible that the minimum price was making it approachable for diverse people. We might have made more money by increasing the price but we wouldn’t have gotten all those people. We gave away some bowls for free and some people didn’t pay. This might have otherwise bothered me but it’s a different feeling when you are not doing it for money. I had a feeling that even those that didn’t pay would have walked off happily and not with that fear or sneaky feeling. That made me very happy.
I also want to try offering such spaces with gift culture, pay-it-forward, for free, and maybe other ways.
Many people dream about different things but it doesn’t always happen – what do you think made this happen?
When I had the idea two years back I just gave up. I was thinking of doing it alone and everything seemed like a task. I would imagine stuff like this - a bunch of friends doing it together, going and sharing love with people. Now was the perfect time and place, I had the perfect people around me. I started thinking about how khojis could add a different flavour...
All I did was announce it in the group. We thought of different ways to go about it – we could have a core team or I could take the lead... But finally, things just fell into place. Everybody dreamed with me and it just happened. Whatever people wanted to do, they ended up doing that. We need more communities that come together to support each other’s dreams like that...
If you feel like doing something then just put it out there and do it. Don’t make a big deal out of it – that’s something that I felt.
“Social Experiment” has become a buzz word in certain circles. It refers to experiments that generally challenge the way that society functions and break existing boundaries, somehow... lovingly.
But it is quite simple: You can sit down and talk with relatives that you don’t usually talk to. You can visit neighbours who you haven’t bothered to get to know. You can offer free hugs in a mall with your friends. You can visit your house-keepers’ community and spend an afternoon there. Visit the slum next door with your mom. Watch a documentary with your family instead of a movie. Host a potluck in your housing community. Offer music on the street with your college mates, take some extra instruments and invite people to play. Clean up a dirty area on your street with your friends and see if you can keep it clean somehow. What is Your Aiyyo Upma?!
"Aiyyo Upma", as Anhad called it, unfolded on Christmas Morning. Selling 10 rupee plates of upma, making music and conversation, Anhad, the 5th batch of khojis, offered time and company to everyone on the street. Something happened, something that touched many people. Some people would call what she did a social experiment.
Here are excerpts from an interview with Sayani about what it was and how it came together. Read on to be inspired.
Can you describe how ‘Aiyyo Upma’ looked that morning?
Yes, it did not look like a breakfast stall at all. We were sitting like everyone else along Fateh Sagar lake. Some of us were singing, and playing music. Someone was standing, someone was talking... We had a big casserole with the upma and ‘donas’ to serve it with... we hadn’t made a proper signboard or anything. People who came didn’t feel like it was a market.
It wasn’t like a college assignment either. We were just there being ourselves. A lot of people were not even aware that we were selling something - they came because of the music and the energy.
I think that was welcoming for different kinds of people - Police walas, the usual morning walkers, hawkers. Some people came for 5-10 min and some hung around for an hour or two. A married couple sang duets to one other. There was a mother with her son and husband, she hesitated for a while and then started singing with us. The father and son had probably never seen her that way, happy, singing with strangers in public. Others stood at a distance, listening.
There was wonder and fascination that things like this can be done. People spoke about how places like this aren’t there anymore. There was no expectation and no intention from us, people could just come and be.
What was it that you wanted to create?
It was a happy place in my head, where there was music, there was food, a place open for all classes of people without bias. Fateh Sagar is a very special place for me and I really wanted to do this here in Udaipur, which is my hometown. There is no place here where you can get healthy breakfast. There is also no place to just hang out in, with sharing and creativity coming together, a place in which to experiment with new things, especially for the youth.
It was one of the many start up ideas I wanted to try two years back... At that time I was studying in Bangalore and experienced a divide between the North and the South Indians. Food is like a language, it can really help bring together cultures and communities. The idea was to serve South Indian food here to help bridge the gap.
That’s why we called this breakfast stall ‘Aiyyo Upma’ – since the ‘aiyyo’ exclamation is something that us north Indians associate with the south Indians.
What do you think made the space so magical?
All of us, individually and put together as a group... we were being ourselves, each doing something we enjoyed doing. For us it was fine to sing anything, to not talk even if people are talking. I was just singing, and my brain was telling me people are calling out to me, reply, but I was just singing. Basically I ended up ignoring people <Laughter>. This is new for people, an atmosphere of being laid back and comfortable and not trying to be any particular thing. That let them feel ok also about being however they wanted to be.
Was this about carrying out a social experiment?
I am suddenly hugging people a lot over here. Gift culture or hugging are things that many people haven’t even imagined to be possible. There’s so much about ourselves and how we live that we start seeing differently here at Swaraj. I really wanted to share this with others, at least with those that really matter to me. I wanted to challenge normally accepted codes of behaviour... ask questions like ‘How would this be instead?’
Social experiment, I got that in my head 2 months back. But if we go beyond the term, I just wanted to try out new things with people and see what happens. Especially with my family, sharing feelings, playing games together, watching a documentary is all something they are not used to. So no matter what platform or approach I take it will end up being a social experiment, right?
How did money play out in the Aiyyo Upma experiment?
Coming to Swaraj, we start thinking about making life simpler. I wanted to explore how much I really needed in order to live. I wanted to explore in what ways and with what emotions I wanted to make that living.
Here, we learnt amazing stuff about earning in a group. Everyone is in a different mindset so how do we not impose or dominate, and how do we make everyone feel heard? We had the space to experiment and learn.
It was also visible that the minimum price was making it approachable for diverse people. We might have made more money by increasing the price but we wouldn’t have gotten all those people. We gave away some bowls for free and some people didn’t pay. This might have otherwise bothered me but it’s a different feeling when you are not doing it for money. I had a feeling that even those that didn’t pay would have walked off happily and not with that fear or sneaky feeling. That made me very happy.
I also want to try offering such spaces with gift culture, pay-it-forward, for free, and maybe other ways.
Many people dream about different things but it doesn’t always happen – what do you think made this happen?
When I had the idea two years back I just gave up. I was thinking of doing it alone and everything seemed like a task. I would imagine stuff like this - a bunch of friends doing it together, going and sharing love with people. Now was the perfect time and place, I had the perfect people around me. I started thinking about how khojis could add a different flavour...
All I did was announce it in the group. We thought of different ways to go about it – we could have a core team or I could take the lead... But finally, things just fell into place. Everybody dreamed with me and it just happened. Whatever people wanted to do, they ended up doing that. We need more communities that come together to support each other’s dreams like that...
If you feel like doing something then just put it out there and do it. Don’t make a big deal out of it – that’s something that I felt.
“Social Experiment” has become a buzz word in certain circles. It refers to experiments that generally challenge the way that society functions and break existing boundaries, somehow... lovingly.
But it is quite simple: You can sit down and talk with relatives that you don’t usually talk to. You can visit neighbours who you haven’t bothered to get to know. You can offer free hugs in a mall with your friends. You can visit your house-keepers’ community and spend an afternoon there. Visit the slum next door with your mom. Watch a documentary with your family instead of a movie. Host a potluck in your housing community. Offer music on the street with your college mates, take some extra instruments and invite people to play. Clean up a dirty area on your street with your friends and see if you can keep it clean somehow. What is Your Aiyyo Upma?!
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