A mother was travelling on a train from Pune to Kota in Rajasthan with a famished 10-month-old baby, the milk had curdled, and there was no pantry in sight. She then shared her predicament in a post on a Facebook group she had recently joined, tagging keywords like ‘mother’, ‘milk’, and ‘baby’.One member from the group immediately tagged the railways. Another contacted a cousin stationed in Surat. By the time the train pulled in, two people stood waiting: a railway officer and another person, both bearing fresh milk. The mother’s post that followed was soaked in gratitude. The group was PULA, an acronym for Pune Ladies.Sonia Agarwal Konjeti, an advocate for women empowerment and social impact, built PULA, a “women-centric digital sanctuary” where women come together to exchange notes, seek counsel, extend aid to sister members, talk about entrepreneurial ventures, and conduct occasional networking meets.The venture started in July 2015 following a simple observation during Agarwal Konjeti’s maternity phase. Scrolling through Facebook, Agarwal Konjeti noticed that no cohesive platform existed to connect women for their everyday practical needs – from childcare and professional services to healthcare and financial guidance – propelling her to launch PULA. Today, more than a decade later, PULA has metamorphosed into India’s largest city-specific women’s group, commanding over 3,00,000 members and connecting more than 17,000 women entrepreneurs.“I started PULA purely out of a need,” Agarwal Konjeti, 43, said, adding that “I understood the power of social groups. When I did some research, Pune didn’t have any such groups that would connect women for their benefits.”“The motives were transparent: help women start independent businesses, facilitate daily needs, address women-specific problems, and foster financial independence,” she further said.Story continues below this adA two-time TEDx speaker, certified Facebook community manager, and IIM Bangalore alumna, Agarwal Konjeti has received numerous awards, including recognition from the House of Commons in London and the prestigious Savitribai Phule Sanman in 2021.As PULA matured, Agarwal Konjeti recognised emerging needs. Women who identified as writers formed a Writers Club. Members who shared culinary interests gathered around cooking forums. Intellectually-driven women found financial advisors and wealth-building resources for knowledge exchange on financial independence.Beyond digital spaces, PULA also organises offline networking events, community picnics, social service initiatives, and donation drives. It also has the PULA Support Group, which is a repository for stories of grief, resilience, and recovery.For entrepreneurs, they also organise bazaars and exhibitions. “We only provide the platform for them to easily connect with the masses,” Agarwal Konjeti said.PULA Support GroupStory continues below this adHowever, beneath PULA’s business success stories, it equally cradles the broken. Agarwal Konjeti recognised early on that statistics on domestic violence and mental health don’t capture the human toll. She added, “Women needed spaces to vent, to heal, to be heard without judgment, so we created the PULA Support Group, an initiative under this wide umbrella, which encompasses 50,000 women, helping them navigate the darkest corners of womanhood.”Agarwal Konjeti recalled a story of a PULA member discovering an elderly stranger abandoned on Pune’s streets, with no memory of her address. She brought the old woman to the Kothrud police station and posted the elderly woman’s photograph on PULA’s Facebook page, tagging the location and personal information. Within hours, the network responded. A relative recognised the woman. The elderly woman’s family found her through PULA’s post, even before police procedures could commence.“Anything you want, here in this group, people just post their doubts and immediately get answers from real people. They’ve begun calling PULA ‘Pune’s Google for women,’ a living search engine powered by compassion rather than algorithms,” the founder of the group said.One of the most striking revelations Agarwal Konjeti mentioned is the impact beyond the immediate circle of women. The men and children of these households have undergone their own quiet transformation. “They’ve become more supportive, more present, more respectful of the space women carve for themselves,” she added.Story continues below this adAsked about her advice to community leaders eyeing similar ventures, she said, “Do good and add value. This will lead to your own growth.”(Swasti Jain is an intern with The Indian Express)