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Code: WH_OH_009_AUD_S4(C1)

Winding up and Contemporary Arts and Crafts (CAC)

Summary:

Focussing on the time Hema Sankalia wound up her firm around 1994, Tanu Sankalia recalls her lethargic response to the tiring client payment defaults she had to repeatedly negotiate. He goes into the reason behind why she chose to shut the firm down right after which he describes her professional journey post the economic liberalization in the late 1990s. He notes how with her track record of over 30 years of practice, she could have leveraged that in a booming economy when more MNCs were being established. She, however, focused her energy on teaching and engaging with the Contemporary Arts and Crafts (CAC), and resolved to be comfortable in the position.. He mentions the factors that drained her resolve and he goes into the projects she engaged herself in. Moving on to sketching and applying her own design to her home, he talks about how she poured her energy into designing her dream house which never materialized, which led to eventually buying an apartment she got the chance to design instead. 

While discussing CAC’s many franchises and the evolution of the enterprise and its winding up, Tanu also talks about a few missed investment opportunities. Tanu moves on to talk about Vina Mody’s trajectory after remembering Hema stepping out of CAC. In response to a question, Tanu traces back his memories of CAC right from its origin to its closing between 2016-17 and narrates many stories of how he remembers CAC in its highest moments and in its time of dissolution. On Hema Sankalia’s retirement in Pune and her writing activities which allowed her as an outlet for her creative energy, he talks about her relaxed transition.

Practitioner:

Hema Sankalia

Interviewee:

Tanu Sankalia

Interviewer:

Ishita Shah

Duration:

00.40.33

Mode:

Online

Date:

27/07/2021

Language:
English

Years:
1980-1989
Highlights:
(00:09:27) Architect's own unbuilt house, (00:12:39) Contemporary Arts and Crafts (CAC) through 1962 - 2017 , (00:34:20) Embracing her Marathi identity and exploring creative expressions within the language