The Story Behind ItiAsmi

Some names are chosen. Others seem to find their way back to you.

The Asmi stage at Banaras Hindu University – where this story began.

Asmi was the name of an annual cultural competition at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), where I studied. It was also one of the first things I ever led, as co-convenor.

At the time, most of us were busy with exams. Some of the most creative people around me had little interest in participating. Plans kept shifting. People needed convincing. Things had to be changed on the fly.

And yet, we kept going.

There was no grand strategy behind it – just persistence, optimism, a willingness to adapt, and a belief that the event could still come together.

Then, on the day itself, something changed.

People showed up.
They joined in.
The energy shifted.

What stayed with me was not just the success of the event, but the experience of getting there: bringing people together, staying positive when enthusiasm was low, adjusting when plans changed, and not giving up too early.

Years later, while creating Upward Canvas, I found myself returning to that name.  

With my roots in India, Sanskrit felt like a natural place to turn: an ancient language woven into India’s cultural and intellectual heritage, with words and ideas that have travelled across generations. It gave me a meaningful way to carry Asmi from an old memory into a new chapter.

In Sanskrit, Asmi means “I am,” while Iti can mean “thus,” “so,” or “in this way.”

I brought them together as ItiAsmi.

Not as a traditional Sanskrit phrase, but as something deeply personal: where the timelessness of an ancient language meets a memory from my own beginnings. A small bridge between where some of my earliest lessons began, who I was then, who I am now, and who I am still becoming.

That is why you’ll occasionally find ItiAsmi tucked into Upward Canvas.

A quiet signature.
A reminder of beginnings.
And of how certain experiences stay with us long after the moment itself has passed.

So, if you ever spot ItiAsmi tucked away somewhere on this site, now you will know why.

Written by: Sangeeta Singh · ItiAsmi |  About →