Gita Balakrishnan: An architect walking for a cause

Architect Gita Balakrishnan has been on the road for two months, walking from Kolkata to Delhi. The walk, which ends on April 16, was organised by Arcause, a platform for architects, designers, engineers and builders, to highlight the importance of design in people’s lives. As she has wended her way through West Bengal, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Balakrishnan, 53, has stopped at homes, schools, town squares, universities, crafts studios. To talk to people about how they live, and how their landscape is changing. There is a lot of building, a lot of change, but not enough design planning in rural areas, Balakrishnan says. She and Arcause hope to submit a report of their observations and recommendations to President Ram Nath Kovind.