Veena Garella

Veena Garella was born in 1943  in Lahore. In 1948, she moved to Calcutta spending a total of 7 years there. Her father moved back to Chandigarh with the family in 1953 and pursued electric work. She received scholarships in school and went on to rank at the College of Architecture, Punjab University in 1961 on the first batch graduated. She remembers when Vasudev Shah gifted her ‘The Fountainhead’ and immediately loved it and describes the little conversations she shared with Le Corbusier. She was the only other of the two girls in her class and she graduated with honors and soon was offered the role of lecturer at CCA, at the request of the principal, A R Prabhawalkar. Soon she requested the principal to be able to draw more from field experience in her lectures, which led to being offered a position at the Haryana state department in 1967 by the same principal turned Chief Architect – which she remembers as an intense experience, and speaks of the scale and designs of many memorable projects she was involved in – including structures at the Kurukshetra University, Haryana Bhavan in Delhi, and the integrated projects at the Brahma Sarovar Dam. 
After she got married, she left for Chandigarh where she joined the New Delhi Municipal (NDMC) Committee in 1969. She shares the personal dynamics she shared then with her new husband. She remembers the energetic senior members at NDMC and the many projects she took up.

She recalls her impressions on having heard architect, Charles Correa’s talk as a student in 1964 and subsequently trained under him when she learned about prominent women architect figures like Pravina Mehta from the municipality. She describes working with architects Mahendra Raj and other notable architects during her training at the Punjab University architect’s office as a senior student. She expands on the first times she witnessed citizen participation in the development of projects and the active pace at which the Delhi Development Authority and the NDMC kept up and her experiences with the agencies. She mentions the large scheme projects she was involved in its execution process. She recalls the city master plan for segregating land uses, under the guidance of the Ford Foundation. She recalls buying her first car since, 1977. After practicing for about 12 years, she put in her application (SPA) under the influence of the head of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the School of Planning and Architecture. Of the many class interactions she had with the professor, and many of her faculty members and acquaintances (such as Revathi Kamath), she remembers some of the cherished lessons and experiences. When she went back to DDA after graduating, she engaged in survey work for the second master plan that went underway. She describes her role, experiences, and the pivotal learning outcomes about the poor or informal sector housing in Delhi she gained in the planning exercise. She concludes by describing the subsequent projects she took on as a planner at DDA.

Veena Garella summarises her journey from CCA to joining the Urban and Regional Planning department at SPA to teach in 1982, on the invite of Architect Ghosh. In looking for creative solutions in income ability in the informal sector, slum rehabilitation, etc., she did the study in exploring opportunities abroad and in Delhi. She describes the technology and the logistics of how she could tackle the problem. Development Alternatives, an NGO, and their initiatives in the domain, she explains their mechanisms and her involvement with them. She recalls her first visit abroad in 1987, to make a concerning presentation at the Imperial College London. She took the opportunity to explore further regions and opportunities there. During this journey, she talks of the many personas she met including S.V Sethuraman who was also studying the informal sector. She began making more work visits abroad often and expands on the 16 countries she covered and their concerning projects. She goes into describing further the institutional collaborations in ecological planning in 1993. Of one such project in her time at SPA, she was invited by UNICEF to create a resettlement rehabilitation scheme. She describes many more presentations and demonstrations in slum re-housing and recalls certain amusing moments along with the work. She went on to organize well-attended national-level seminars from 1985 on planning for the informal sector. In her conservation efforts further, she describes the sites and regions she contributed to through documentation and conservation and its recent developments. After retiring in 2005, she was hired by developmental consultancies as an advisor. She covers some of the works she did with the different international and local agencies since then and the educational institutions where she has taught or presented at. She has been engaged in contributing to a book to build a narrative of the city of Chandigarh. 

Veena Garella begins by addressing the redevelopment efforts due at the Karolbaug area in Delhi. She goes through more such various proposals and other documents concerning action planning and redevelopment projects, and reads them while recalling the thought process and collaborative efforts behind them. Some included city and metropolitan planning, ecological planning, a talk at Delhi Regional Planner – Institute of Town Planners in India, etc. She recalls enjoying participating in a dialogue at a convention abroad in 1997 on net-zero buildings along with prominent names. She goes through a report of the techno-economic feasibility study for industrial and technoparks in Madhya Pradesh she took part in after her retirement. On the practice of being an independent practitioner, she explains where it began with the Jawaharlal Nehru Renewal Mission, and the projects concerning cities she covered. She mentions the Slums-Free Cities plan of action which she headed for 2 cities, initiated by the Indian Government. 
 
She goes back to the time she received training at the studio in SPA and implemented the learnings into her plans later. She notes the Paliwal Park in Agra, where she narrates the stories behind its history and the scheme she was involved in for the park. She speaks further on her planning processes. She aspires to assimilate the philosophical backing, and ideological backing with the built environment in her planning and speaks about the ways in which she has tried to achieve it. She recalls many stories from the architectural history of Delhi and its connection to its past rulers. She concludes by speaking about her environmental sector work and the key technology mechanisms she implemented along with the challenges she faced with the communities concerned.

On the area of Saket, Delhi, Veena Garella describes the significance of the planned area in reducing the congestion and unchecked slum dwellings. She recalls her experience in the redevelopment of the unchecked growth of a village in the area. She goes into the sense of community she felt when she shared her area with many neighbors – all of whom she remembers. She goes through a print article in her home about Saket, Delhi. She recalls the master plan she contributed towards for Delhi University in 1985. She further goes through other documents, papers, and photographs on her visits abroad, master plans for a smart city etc., and publications as well as presentations. She also notes the timeline in which these projects were taken up along. 
 
She recalls working close to understanding cities, planning and architecture in the context of the pandemic. She goes back to some of the Havelis, consultancy projects etc. she and her team have developed and the people she met along the journey. She speaks of her little interactions with the Indian geographer, Munis Raza. She shares some lessons and concepts she grasped early, which she applied in her projects such as slum rehabilitation and small housing, in the understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She recalls technological support improvised by the furniture giant, IKEA, that caught her eye, along with other observations and revelations she had made over years of extensive communications with authorities and stakeholders. On an affordable housing scheme she worked towards, she describes the developmental strategies and tools she created and implemented. She notes the efficiency of the project from 2015 and her inherent intentions for the implementation of the creative solutions, concluding by the importance of integrating the efforts of infrastructure, planning, maintenance and designing departments.
 

After summarizing about the different foreign cities she’s been to, she talks about wanting to instigate change in her own country and how her past efforts seem to be futile. She touches on the many factors why she felt it was convenient to work in the government when she first started, and how it seemed like the most effective choice then compared to the present times. About fulfilling her service-oriented goals, she speaks about it the period when she first began practicing. Beginning as a woman practitioner, she talks about the many frustrating factors that made climbing the ladder difficult – not attributing the entire blame on a gender bias. She goes into depth with the exposure and experiences with her government practice in the context of her gender. On managing her role as a professional and a mother, she talks about the collective help she received. She reads through the concept notes and collections she has been compiling, bringing attention to a particular one in Le Corbusier’s quotations. Some others included webinars at various educational institutions, supporting a start-up on net-zero buildings, notes on an accessible tourist city and a plastic park, etc. The documents included a remodeling concept on a heritage building at Connaught Place, a planning project for a walkway for the airport authorities, etc. Delving into her interest in handicrafts and handloom, she also speaks of stories about her work attire, her personal collection of ceramics, and unique home decor pieces. She notes all the writing work she has put in, that she can recollect. She moves on to the recent developments the authorities bring on in the national capital city and the issues it faces due to disintegrated governance and decision-making system. On her siblings and their immediate family, she recounts stories, their personalities and interests, and how they may have influenced her choices. She further scours into her archive of documents and notes left of her extensive work.