Nala Saraswati and his wife Suravi Saraswati own and operate Oocha Mani. Both are part of the Jyotish tradition of Sri Achyutananda Das of Kalinga through their guru Pt. Sanjay Rath, one of the most recognized teachers of Jyotish. Nala has devoted his life to the study of Vedic spiritual traditions with a particular focus on Jyotish, gemstone upayas, and the art of metalworking. He has taught courses on Jyotish and Vedic spiritual traditions as a guest lecturer at the Ayurvedic department of Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU) and in independent online courses. Both Nala and Suravi are initiated into several authentic Shakta lineages including Sri Vidya. They are students of the Jaimini Scholar Program, Parasara Jyotisa Course, and Siva Mahapurana course, and were students in the Mantra Shastra Program through the Devaguru Brihaspati Center. Their teachers include Pt. Sanjay Rath, Sarbani Rath, and Visti Larsen. Pt. Sanjay Rath has publicly called Nala the best gem artist in the world.