The employees were in shock, still to come to terms with the sudden death of their owner, Gina Braganza.
They recalled their association with Gina, who died after an accidental fall from her fourth floor apartment terrace.
Gina’s friend Venkat Subramaniyam said, “I had just spoken to her on Friday, late in the evening. Gina was a dreamer. She wanted to expand the Opus branches to as many places as possible. She had invested all her savings in the project.”
Recalled an employee, “Though she was a strict administrator, she was motherly in heart. She would instruct employees in a cordial way.”
Another friend recalled, “She was a fearless woman and loved to meet challenges and take risks. She was a fighter and would never give up anything half way.”
Gina’s father served in the Air Force. Though she was Goan, Bangalore occupied a special place in her heart. She was a frequent traveller to Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.
She had dreamt of starting 100 branches of Opus in the country, in the next one year. Recently, she had organised ‘Opus Osho’, a 10-day promotional programme in New Delhi. She successfully conducted such shows in Hyderabad, Goa and Delhi.
Gina started Opus in December 2004. Early this year, she acquired Buddha Creek and named it as Opus in the Creek; she acquired Soul in Pune and named it Opus Pune.
She also launched her own online radio station, myopusradio.com, to play international music.
She was a good cook, and a voracious reader as well. She had organised ‘Kroak Night’, a special programme for her customers last Sunday. Gina had visited Opus on October 1 and organised Booze and Clous, a quiz programme for her customers, and distributed prizes to winners. That was her last visit to the place which she cherished more than anything else in the world, recalled the employees.
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