Niika with Document Writers on Registration Day
Dear Friends ~
Great news! With the help of so many from all over the world who encouraged, donated, made advance purchases of treatment time and offered heart-felt prayers, we are thrilled to announce the purchase of River House for Rasa Ayurveda!
Besides just being, pretty much nothing comes easily in India. To get anything done, you’d better have plenty of patience, the willingness to try repeated approaches, various kinds of assistance, extra cash, more extra cash, and mainly Divine Grace! These are the essential ingredients that make moments of accomplishment (finally!) possible in the land of Sacred Chaos.
All the necessary elements came together at last, after many kinds of challenges were met. And so, we’re happy to share with you this celebratory moment!
Official Documents, Stitched and Stamped
You can see that in the first photo, I’m feeling proud and happy. It had been quite a lot of effort to complete all the financial, logistical and legal requirements to arrive at this day, and here I was, standing next to our document writers, who were about to hand over the final paperwork. Next, we’d carry this to the government real estate registration office where we’d meet the sellers, pay the registration tax and get everyone’s signatures on the done deal. The government office would then record the transfer of ownership and issue an official deed.
Sanju – my adopted brother and a director of our Indian company MayaShakti Ayurveda, Pvt. Ltd. – took the photo at my request. I wanted to document a moment of accomplishment, something to share with all of you…!
Ah, but alas, our work was far from over! We’d expected to complete registration by lunchtime, but – the sellers went to meet us in the wrong location. We waited for them for a long while. They finally found us, and we raced to the Registrar’s office. We arrived and waited for our turn to approach the Registrar. When we reached the front of the line, the Treasurer accepted the registration tax, in cash. The Registrar looked over all the papers, and all of us and said, “Foreigners can’t buy real estate.”
Well, that’s true, but it is our Indian company buying the building, not me personally, which is perfectly legal. I’m not even the sole shareholder! But I am the Managing Director and therefore the one to sign the documents.
Back office talk. Phone calls in loud questioning Malayalam. Uncertain glances. We’d paid the (enormous) registration fee, but it was returned to us in stacks and stacks of rupee notes. In the final analysis, the registrar wanted more corporate identifying information on the documents. The documents had to be redone. The office was closing for lunch. We’d have to return with the sellers, copies of other official papers and a whole new set of sales documents.
OK – Yes – I do yoga, I breathe, and I meditate, and have been through plenty in life. I’m not a stranger to anticipation and complication. But poor Sanju aniyan had all he could do to keep me in my skin that day! The look on the sub-registrar’s face made me wonder if he’d actually document the sale even if we produced all he asked for. And honestly? I was a little nervous to let our sellers wander off during the lunch hour, while we drove back to the clinic to collect more papers, dropped by our bank for more documentation and prevailed upon the document writer’s once again for a whole new set of papers. The sellers now had their money, after all, and had no further need of us. But we needed their presence again in the afternoon, and final signatures on the re-drafted documents!
It took the rest of the day to come to a happy landing point. We struggled through two sets of papers with the document writers to produce error-free documents, and made our way back in front of the Sub-Registrar. The sellers did reappear and did the needful. At 4:50pm, just minutes before closing, the government officials once again accepted our registration fee, and stamped all the papers with seals of approval. Reticent congratulatory smiles were offered in all directions and we left the office.
Outside, the seller and I removed our shoes. I faced the East, put my hands together in prayer, then placed a thousand rupee note in the seller’s hand. She said a prayer and handed me the house key.
We did it! We purchased the River House for Rasa Ayurveda!
Sanju listens to C. Thanu Pillai as he consults Vastu notes on River House
A few days later, we called C. Thanu Pillai a vastu specialist to come to the house and advise us. Before we move a stick of furniture inside, we want to ensure that the energy of the house is very clear and perfect for healing, educating and strengthening women – our purpose for Rasa Ayurveda. Vastu shastra is an ancient Vedic art of placement, and also involves studying the astrologically-influenced relationship between a building and its owner(s). Mr. Pillai spent several hours assessing the characteristics of the building site, measuring various aspects of the house, counting the number of corners the building has, and consulting texts.
The bottom line? A little remodeling is in order to improve the location of the front door and a few other details for greater harmony. But in 10 points out of the 12 traditionally assessed, River House rates the highest for good fortune under our ownership and for the purpose it will serve – to provide a supportive place for women to heal, learn and become strong in themselves, ready to be powerful in life!
The Cleaning Brigade
River House is a beautiful building, but it had been neglected for some time, and sorely needed a good scrubbing! Here Vino, Prakash, Suma and Rema take a break from cleaning, delighted with Rasa Ayurveda’s new home.
But the story isn’t over… ! Each success seems to beget the next project! With the sale behind us, it’s time to raise funds for the renovation, complete the new yoga hall and bathroom on the roof, make the vastu adjustments, and build a sundeck at the river’s edge. And on January 1st, a gardener will begin plant medicinal plants and vegetables. A dream come true for so many of us!
We’re looking forward to making River House a truly beautiful, functional site for groups of women and individual patients. The whole Rasa Ayurveda family is enthusiastic about having a building to call home!
We sincerely thank all who have joined us in creating this foundation for the future of Rasa Ayurveda.
May you enjoy this season in your own home, wherever you are. We hope to welcome you to Rasa Ayurveda’s River House, very soon!
With warmest regards~
Niika Quistgard, CAS
Managing Director, Rasa Ayurveda Traditional Healing Centre for Women
MayaShakti Ayurveda Pvt. Ltd.
Trivandrum, Kerala
Niika Quistgard :: Dec.22.2010 ::
Culture, Spirituality, Rasa Ayurveda News ::
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