We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn
Mary Catherine Bateson
I am a design researcher interested in Sustainability transitions. My experience is rooted both in the analytical methodologies of sustainability assessments as well as more community oriented collaborative place based approaches. My approach to sustainability is to be contextual, bring in trans-disciplinary approaches and a reflexive methodology.
My most recent role was as Associate Dean at the School of Law, Environment and Planning and Coordinator for the UNESCO Chair in Culture, Habitat and Sustainable Development at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Bangalore, India.
I led the design, management and coordination of transdisciplinary programs in Public Space Design, Heritage Design, Planning and Management and Urban Design, Sustainability and Conservation. I have mentored and facilitated courses at the Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Doctoral level.
For the UNESCO chair, I coordinated the strategy, management and reporting for the period 2014--2018 and the proposal for 2018 - 2021.
I was also on the executive committee of the Council of Monuments and Sites - India (ICOMOS India) and am a consultant for Niiti Consulting.
WHO AM I
Seeing
A grey world not in black and white
Possibilities before problems
Connections, Life, Beauty
Thinking
Synthesis beyond Analysis
Immersive Intuition
Making
A million ways of doing
Together for Harmony
Failures! What?
PHILOSOPHY
WORK
LEARNING
LIFE
I grew up in the foothills of Himalayas and love the fog rising from the valleys, wild berries, snow and the sound of the flute echoing across the valley. Moving has become a way of life, I am adept at packing up my life in two suitcases and moving across cities, states and countries including once a 2100 km drive across country to move from Delhi to Bangalore. Moving has also meant that I am extremely adaptable and in fact love the challenges of living in new places, adapting to new cultures and in turn discovering a new me in every place. I love reading and have to finish what I start no matter whether I like it or not, also with movies and anything I start. I am drawn to opposites - I love minimalism as much as I love art nouveau.
I am an eternal optimist who would try everything new - not always with pleasant results. I am married to a very serious and pragmatic person who likes to plan everything to the T(but still goes along with my spontaneous adventure seeking - lets do this now! spirit). We have a two and a half year old who seems too old for his age, is a storyteller, a transport enthusiast and a manipulator par excellence.
