Growing up in Delhi, my everyday was with my grandparents who were followers of spirituality and were involved extensively in community service. They instilled in me the importance of ‘Seva’ (Hindi word for ‘serving others’) and the responsibility to lift others when we can. I realized the power of spirituality and the value of building empathy at a fairly young age. While I did not have the conventional family time growing up, I am grateful for how that moulded me as a person who cherishes every moment with family and friends today.

2014 – 2016: School of Architecture, University of Waterloo – Search for Self

The first breakthrough in my personal life was when I moved to Canada to study at the School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo in 2014. Two core memories that stand out are a new culture and an extremely cold climate. Those years completely transformed me as a person and to date guide how I approach any situation in life. It was a period of uncertainty, and vivid dreams as I was not sure if moving to Canada was the right decision at that time. During this time, I took an elective called ‘The Inner Studio’ by the Late Professor Andrew Levitt. The goal of the course was to present a psychological view of the built world to help architects understand the wisdom of their dreams, shadows, and bodies during the process of design. Taking this course helped me experience the act of design as inseparable from enriching the self.

In August 2014, I started working on my thesis with a keen interest in understanding the walled City of Old Delhi’s urban fabric. I visited this historic city a few times while growing up and loved the City for its heritage, culture, and spatial narratives and how generations lived together in these beautiful courtyard houses. I titled my thesis ‘De-Coding Urbanity: Learning from and for Old Delhi || Preserving cultural Urban codes’; it was about developing analytical tools to decode Old Delhi’s fabric by looking at the city architecturally, spatially, and dimensionally to understand how the cultural aspect of the city was generated. As an architect, the urban fabric has always caught my attention, and always wondered how this fabric was creating a sociocultural space where families could live with each other and create these closely-knit neighbourhoods. Thus, when I got to know that Old Delhi is under redevelopment, the first thought that came to my mind was would these redevelopment plans preserve the city’s urbanity or would just focus on the materiality of the fabric and conservation of monuments. My mind unconsciously wanted to understand this cultural landscape and how it impacts the families living there.

I recall in one of our Inner Studio lectures, we talked about our Master’s thesis as a ‘Self-Directed Thesis’. Self, being the regulating center of the psyche, directed meaning ‘given guidance’ by our experiences and thinking. It is when we experience the act of design (or research) as inseparable from enriching the self, that we begin to understand the built environment from a psychological standpoint. This results in a ‘Self-Directed Thesis’. All of us can achieve this with the help of different styles of learning, which are called the ‘Four Functions’ – thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. Thinking comes easily to us and thus is the dominant function. It is only when we can access all of these at any given time and not have just one of the functions, we can take authority of our self. According to psychologist Carl Jung, if the world has to be a home for everyone, there should be space for all functions. Sensation establishes what is actually present, thinking enables us to recognize its meaning, feeling tells us its value, and intuition points to possibilities as to whence it came and whither it is going in a given situation. [“A Psychological Theory of Types,” CW 6, par. 958.] Though all the functions exist in every psyche, one function is invariably more consciously developed than the others, giving rise to a one-sidedness that often leads to neurosis (source: https://www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html).

To bridge the distance from the present to the early years, we have to get in touch with things that fascinate us, excite us, and help us identify our passion. My Master’s thesis helped me discover Old Delhi’s heritage and culture and reminded me of my time with my family back home. My thesis was the result of incredible guidance and support from my supervisors and made me realize that Heritage Architecture and Planning were my calling. After defending my thesis, I decided to go back to Delhi to spend time with my family.

2017 -2018: Move to Toronto, Canada

After running our design practice in Delhi for almost five years, my husband and I decided to move back to Canada in 2017. Despite studying from Waterloo and having relevant experience, it took 262 job applications to get my first job in Canada. In hindsight, I was applying at the wrong places without understanding my strengths and how and where they could be applied. After working for a few months in Canada, my husband and I had to return to India due to personal reasons, this was not part of the plan and forced us to reassess our lives and future goals.

It was shortly after shooting for City of Widows, that my husband and I decided to move to Canada again in 2019. But this time we were more prepared; we knew what we were looking for and how we could apply our skills. Within a month back in Canada, my husband and I had jobs in our respective fields. Generally, starting from scratch is challenging but I was more focused on seeing it as an opportunity to work in heritage architecture and planning that I’m passionate about. Putting myself out there, asking questions, networking with industry leaders, and finding the right mentors impacted my professional growth positively. Starting from scratch came as a blessing as today I work as a heritage professional and I am fortunate to have received the support and guidance of many individuals throughout my journey. A huge part of our time in Canada was also impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic that happened a few months after our move. This made it impossible to go back home to see family. Moving to a foreign land and not being able to socialize, or build relationships was a huge challenge. I was empathetic towards people who were living alone, particularly those who were new to Canada. It was during this time, that I started an online platform and support group called I-CAN Design to mentor, and guide design professionals moving from India to Canada. As the word spread, I was approached by like-minded individuals who were also working towards this cause. Fast-forward to the present day, we are a small group of committed individuals who run a not-for-profit called the Society of South Asian Architects, Canada, which is the only community-based platform for South Asian representation and supports design professionals from across the globe. In a short period, SOSA has received immense support from local and national organizations and positive feedback from students, design professionals, and industry leaders.

My story is neither unique nor the most challenging, but it is the story of many immigrants in whole or in parts. Living in India and moving to Canada contributed to my quest for wholeness. I am stronger emotionally, and mentally more confident of my abilities than ever before, and very excited for the times to come. I urge anyone and everyone to travel to places they haven’t before, step out of their comfort zone and never be afraid to start over or start afresh, for it is these experiences that force us to look within ourselves, grow spiritually, and build empathy.

I would like to end with an excerpt from the introduction of Carl Jung’s book ‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’ which is my inspiration for the title of this blog: I early arrived at the insight that when no answer comes from within to the problems and complexities of life, they ultimately mean very little. Outward circumstances are no substitute for inner experience. Therefore, my life has been singularly poor in outward happenings. I cannot tell much about them, for it would strike me as hollow and insubstantial. I can understand myself only in the light of inner happenings.’

Thank you!

Biography 

Kanika is a heritage professional passionate about conserving and managing historic sites that connect the present and future to our past. Kanika migrated to Canada to pursue her M.Arch. at the University of Waterloo in 2014 where she was exposed to heritage architecture, research, and critical design thinking.

During this process, she was intrigued by historic landscapes, the power of story-telling, and the interdisciplinary aspects of architectural education. Passionate about cultural landscapes, teaching, and mentorship, she worked as an Assistant professor in India and as a teaching assistant in Canada to guide and mentor students by focusing on the core areas of the profession and embedding a sense of responsibility towards society and the environment.

As a Senior Cultural Heritage Specialist, Kanika has led a variety of projects throughout Ontario, focusing on heritage restoration, rehabilitation, retrofits and their sustainable integration with new developments. She has extensive experience in heritage planning and architecture, reviewing policy-based planning applications and providing technical advisory services.

In 2021, Kanika co-founded the Society of South Asian Architects (SOSA) in Canada. As the Director of Public Relations at SOSA, Kanika’s work focuses on maintaining the image of the not-for-profit by building positive connections with local architectural organizations, designers, and students and increasing awareness of this platform within South Asian communities.