Beginning with her childhood, Balvinder Saini describes how that period markedly made her feel protected and happy while admitting how a lack of exposure and over-protection could have dimmed her confidence levels at a younger age. She was the youngest of five siblings. Deciding early, factors that led her to choose architecture include her pursuit of a professional degree, nurturing her interest in sketching, and familiarity provided by her architect brother-in-law. Knowing her parents were apprehensive about her studying outside Chandigarh, the Chandigarh College of Architecture (CCA) became her obvious preference. She graduated in 1977 with honors, and was among seven girls in a class of twenty-four. Subsequently, as soon as she got a job, her marriage was fixed to an Army official. She describes the following five years as traumatic, with having to simultaneously adjust to her new job, her new marriage, and as a new daughter-in-law. She was made to resign by her in-laws, after being selected through the competitive Punjab Public Service Commission open examination. After having a child, she took a break for the next two years. 

Luckily, with the support of her parents and her husband, she continued to work till she retired as Chief Architect in 2012, putting in 31 years of service. She explains the hierarchy in her department and the roles involved across structures. She also notes the various advantages the government role provided her including how it offered her projects of varying magnitude. In a specific incident, she recalls how for a time-bound project commissioned by the Chief Minister, they were given only two days to provide a new concept. After having visited many sites across the width of Punjab on a hectic schedule, she reached her team’s location the final night and made the presentation the next morning. She remembers how they celebrated their positive results and how she distinctly misses such career moments. In connection to a slum rehabilitation project, she pursued a postgraduate diploma in land management and formal settlement regularisation in 2011. She had also participated in an archival project since. In her retirement years, she refrains from active practice and only participates as a subject expert in colleges. She much rather prefers to catch up on her reading and travelling.