Global IndianstoryBobbie Kalra: The Indian entrepreneur leading the way we map our world

Bobbie Kalra: The Indian entrepreneur leading the way we map our world

Written by: Global Indian

(December 21, 2021) When it comes to mapping in the times of technology, this IT head honcho is right at the crux of innovation. With everything being digitally mapped today, the reliance on geospatial mapping is of prime importance and Bobbie Kalra, founder Magnasoft has his fingers on the pulse of an industry that is set to grow Rs 63,100 crore by 2025. The Indian entrepreneur has given the geospatial industry cutting-edge technology and services with Magnasoft, which is among the leaders in this space.

The ambitious India-based digital geospatial information specialist has been shaking things up for quite some time now with his intelligent 3D models to enable informed decision-making for all kinds of applications. From first helping Bengaluru increase property taxation by 100 percent to having worked across 72 countries in the areas of architecture, utilities, high-tech space, infrastructure, and telecom projects, Kalra has come full circle since his first venture back in 1995.

Vegetation management & analysis remains a challenge for power utilities. Here's a glimpse of the issues and possible solutions.https://t.co/NcD1TFYha9 #utilities #energy #powerlines #vegetationmanagement #geospatial #mapping

— Magnasoft (@magnasoft) April 15, 2021

The engineer from Bangalore

Born in Bhopal, Kalra moved to Bengaluru when he was less than a year old as his father worked with BHEL. After schooling at Baldwin’s Boys High School, he did his mechanical engineering from Bangalore University in 1994. “This was the age of the new tech entrepreneur and I was hugely inspired by the success of Infosys. I wanted to do something on my own,” recalls Kalra, who then began helping his sister and her husband with the St Marks Business Centre. “I would help them with design when I was still in college. It was here that I learnt the fundamentals of working with debit and credit.”

As his engineering course, he launched his own company in the services line. So, in 1995 he rented office space at St Marks and launched the St Marks CADD Services after obtaining a bank loan. “Around that time a lot of old engineering drawings were being digitised and I jumped onto the bandwagon. I got my first break with Tata Consulting Engineering and that set the ball rolling. We would digitise drafts and also engineer design and details,” says Kalra, who grew the team from a single member company to a team of 80 engineers.

A course in executive education and disruptive strategy at Harvard University, the world of mapping is his oyster.

Global Indian entrepreneur Bobbie Kalra

Mapping forth

Their next break came with projects for Kyga nuclear power plant, Bosche and other architects. In 1996, they landed a contract with Chicago Computerised Facility Integration (CFI). “They had a huge contract with AT&T and were looking for a company to work on the offshore model. We landed the deal and would work on the UNIX system when modem speeds were around 14kbps. We would go to the VSNL office to upload large files,” he smiles of a simpler yet tougher IT era.

Following the telecom bust CFI pivoted its model to focus on geospatial mapping. Soon Kalra’s company followed suit. They bought the first few licenses for the SIM software and turned their focus to the field of GIS. In 2000, Kalra founded Magnasoft by merging St Marks CADD Services and raised VC funds from Global Technology Ventures, the VC arm of Café Coffee Day Group. “Around this time the government changed in Karnataka and was looking to create a geospatial map of the Bangalore. We were invited to show how GIS could improve Bangalore city. So, while most other companies focused on power point presentations, what we did was focus on the heart of the municipal system: property taxation,” he tells Global Indian.

Within a week Kalra and his team came up with a property enumeration programme; they mapped a small area of the city (Richmond Town area), and conducted a survey keeping all the parameters that influenced taxation in mind. Magnasoft landed the contract and soon it was helping Bangalore increase its taxation by 100 percent.

Bobbie with his family

Pivoting the business

Like any entrepreneurial journey, Kalra’s was also speckled with challenges. But the company’s agility and Kalra’s foresight to pivot as per the need help them not just stay afloat but also grow slowly but steadily. After the dot com crash, Magnasoft began looking at markets abroad and invested directly in US sales. “Ever since, it has been a journey of accruals and reinvesting,” says the entrepreneur who moved to the US in 2002 to expand his business and focus on fundamental growth and cash flows.

Soon they had a presence in over 72 countries such as North America, Europe, Latin America, Australia, Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. As the market began opening up to GISM, Magnasoft too began to cause a disruption in the space. By 2008 though, Kalra moved back to India and

continued to shuttle between the US and India to work on his business. “Today, we’ve chosen to focus only on a few verticals such as utilities, communications, telecom, vegetation management for power lines, high tech, and infrastructure. We’ve also pared down our operations to just a few markets like North America, Scandinavia and UK apart from a few large enterprise deals in India,” says Kalra, who is now focused on direct sales and hiring talent for leadership roles in the US and UK.

Global Indian Bobbie Kalra

On the growth path

The company has also brought on board directors and advisors: Phaneesh Murthy, Abraham Mathew, Rajeev Kuchal, and Bhupinder Singh. “The board has been instrumental in helping us focus on a few strong points and strengthen our presence in those areas. The pandemic, of course, had thrown us off path for about a month, but the company was agile enough to get back on track within 30 days. Our staff was all working from home and we managed to put in space systems and security practices to ensure that work continued regardless,” says the agile entrepreneur, who typically begins his day 4 am.

What keeps him going is his love for mapping and the fact that he enjoys visualisation. That apart, Kalra also has a love for theatre and has in the past portrayed small roles in several plays, including Girish Karnad’s Crossing to Talikota. “Due to time constraints, I don’t take on any big roles, but I’ve loved essaying small roles and working on the back-end. I’ve also acted in a Kannada serial,” says the man, who has worked with theatre artistes like Arjun Sajnani, Munira Sen, and Ashish Sen.

On the weekends, jam sessions where he plays the guitar and percussion instruments is his energizing time. Incidentally, Kalra was a drummer back in his college days. That apart, he also believes in giving back to the community he lives and works in and is an active member of the Bangalore Round Table. “We have worked towards helping educate over 3 million children through the Freedom Through Education programme and during the pandemic we also worked towards procuring and distributing oxygen concentrators,” says the multi-faceted Kalra.

Incidentally, Bobbie, had also launched an ingenious app in Mumbai to protect children commuting to and fro from school. The app, Northstar was designed for both parents and school authorities to keep an eye on their children in real time. At heart, disruption is key to his goals, even as he takes time to give back to society, albeit tech wise.

Follow Bobbie Kalra on LinkedIn and Twitter

Name*

Email*

Name*

Email*

0 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

Published on 21, Dec 2021

Share with

ALSO READ

Antarctica’s Mount Sinha: Named after a Bihar-born scientist in the USA

(August 22, 2024) In 2013, Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha, was searching online for information to write a tribute to a former team member, who had passed away. The late team member had accompanied Professor Sinha on an Antarctic expedition in the 1970s. The professor had been on a scientific expedition focused on researching and documenting the populations of seals, whales, and birds that inhabit the pack ice - a floating layer of sea ice - within the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas of Antarctica. That research had helped establish critical baseline data for future research, climate change debates and United Nations population conservation efforts of wildlife. 40 years later, to Professor Sinha’s surprise, he discovered a Wikipedia entry, revealing that a 990 metres high mountain, located at the southeast end of Erickson Bluffs in the southern region of McDonald Heights in Antarctica, was officially named ‘Mount Sinha’ in recognition of his contributions in the Antarctic expedition. "Named by US-ACAN for A.A. Sinha, member of the biological party that made population studies of seals, whales and birds in the pack ice of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas using USCGC Southwind and its two helicopters, 1971-72," the entry reads. [caption id="attachment_54206" align="aligncenter" width="775"]

s in the Antarctic expedition.

"Named by US-ACAN for A.A. Sinha, member of the biological party that made population studies of seals, whales and birds in the pack ice of the Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas using USCGC Southwind and its two helicopters, 1971-72," the entry reads.

[caption id="attachment_54206" align="aligncenter" width="775"] Indian Scientist | Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha | Global Indian Image extracted from Google Maps[/caption]

Memorable experiences

Following this discovery Professor Sinha shared with the press, "I went to Antarctica on two expeditions lasting for about 22 weeks on the US Coast Guard cutters, Southwind and Glacier, during 1972 and 1974. We were often dropped via helicopter atop vast sheets of pack ice to research and capture resident fauna, and I was even attacked once by predatory Skua birds near Palmer Station.”

Given his background and expertise in reproductive biology, the US National Science Foundation had invited Dr Sinha to conduct research on the reproduction of Antarctic seals, as part of their Antarctic Program. His work encompassed cataloguing of native seal, whale, and bird species along nearly 100,000 nautical square miles of the Antarctic coast.

Carrying out the studies in the remote and challenging environments, the scientist was mesmerised by the pristine beauty of the place and the superb adaptability skills of the Antarctic animals to the harsh weather conditions.

Along with his team he had even visited countries like Argentina and New Zealand on their way to Antarctica. Between expeditions, Sinha and his crew members aboard their U.S. Coast Guard ship would play poker, rummy and eventually bridge.

Raising alarms on climate change

In addition to his work with animals, Sinha has been one of the key people to first raise the alarm on Antarctica’s depleting ice shelf. According to the University of Minnesota, “Records of population sizes, types and behaviours created by Sinha and his teammates have established critical baseline data that remain relevant in today’s climate change debates.”

[caption id="attachment_54207" align="aligncenter" width="403"] Indian Scientist | Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha | Global Indian Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha[/caption]

Research conducted by Professor Sinha helped in establishing the continent as an international scientific preserve to protect it from drilling and exploitation for oil, minerals, and other valuable natural resources. The scientist's research was also used for the United Nation’s early conservation policies to preserve native wildlife of Antarctica.

Professor Sinha had highlighted that since Antarctica is rich in resources such as animal populations, gas, oil, minerals, and freshwater, India and the United States could form a strong research collaboration to tap into these valuable assets and advance scientific understanding to protect the continent’s resources. “India can play a constructive role with a tie-up with the US and can protect habitats and mineral resources of Antarctica," he had remarked during a seminar in India.

Since the Global Indian scientist’s pioneering biological research expedition provided critical data and insights, the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names (US-ACAN) and the US Geological Survey had named an Antarctic mountain after him within a few years of the expedition - a tribute he discovered decades later.

From Buxar to Minnesota

Sinha who served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, and a professor in the Department of Urology at the University of Minnesota - had moved to the United States in 1961 as a PhD scholar.

[caption id="attachment_54209" align="aligncenter" width="758"] Indian Scientist | Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha | Global Indian Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha[/caption]

Born in the village of Churamanpur in Buxar district, a village established in 1739 by his ancestor Akhoury Churaman Singha (later Sinha), the research enthusiast earned a BSc degree from Allahabad University and an MSc in Zoology from Patna University. Before moving to the US for his PhD at the University of Missouri at Columbia, he taught in the Department of Zoology at Ranchi College.

After completing his PhD, he took up postdoctoral work, and his first teaching role as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin before being accepted to teach at the University of Minnesota in 1981. Professor Sinha taught graduate level courses for more than two-and-half decades.

"In spite of my stay in the US, I have preserved my perspectives in life," Sinha had shared during one of the felicitation ceremonies of his alma mater, Patna University adding "Earning money is not enough. I know many Indians brag how rich they are. You cannot take money with you, but a good deed will last forever."

Pioneering work in cancer research

Professor Sinha, who has authored hundreds of research papers, conducted critical studies on the characteristics of prostate cancer stem cells, the aggressiveness of prostate cancer, and cell proliferation and death. He was affiliated with the University of Minnesota’s Masonic Cancer Centre, a comprehensive cancer centre recognised by the National Cancer Institute.

Some of his research works were efforts which were not even funded by grants. He had hired student researchers, paying them out of his own pocket to assist him in his work. “I will do what is right - if you don’t give me money, that’s OK,” the scientist with deep dedication towards his work and life’s purpose had remarked.

Apart from his responsibilities as a professor and cancer research scientist, he held a long-term association as a researcher at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis dedicated to the needs of veterans, their families and caregivers. "After I moved to VA, I was nudged to work on something relevant to veterans' diseases,” he had remarked.

[caption id="attachment_54210" align="aligncenter" width="652"] Indian Scientist | Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha | Global Indian Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha[/caption]

Matters of the heart

Despite being deeply engaged in his work in the US, Professor Akhouri Achyutanand Sinha had not lost touch with his village in Bihar’s Buxar, visiting almost every year to escape the Minnesota winters. The scientist with a fascination for cross-country skiing, travelling, reading, and photography, had met his wife Dorothy K. Pamer at a party in Dinkytown. “He just loves what he does and he says he’s never going to retire,” Dorothy had remarked in an interview.

Encouraging the students in Patna, the alumni of Patna University's 1956 batch had said during a felicitation ceremony, "Show the world what you are capable of and do not be afraid to talk to people about your research work, and take help from experts."

Reading Time: 5 mins

Chetna Maroo: British-Indian author’s debut book makes it to the 2023 Booker Prize longlist

(September 25, 2023) "It took three years. I write slowly, the first pages in longhand, then typing. I usually try to get each sentence and paragraph sounding right before I go on, reading and editing from the beginning of the story," says Chetna Maroo, the Indian-origin author whose debut book Western Lane has been longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize. The 160-page novel revolves around Gopi, an 11-year-old who is brought up with two other sisters in the UK and is driven to become an athlete by her father as they struggle with grief. The novel, set within the context of the British Gujarati milieu, has been praised by the Booker judges for its use of the sport of squash as a metaphor for complex human emotions. "It’s an honour. It’s humbling to see Western Lane amongst all the books that have been longlisted in the history of the prize," the Kenya-born said in an interview. [caption id="attachment_45318" align="aligncenter" width="766"] Chetna Maroo[/caption] The novel, which is Chetna's debut, hit the stalls in February this year, and in a few months has garnered praise from book lovers all across. The London-based author moved to the UK from Kenya in childhood and

el, which is Chetna's debut, hit the stalls in February this year, and in a few months has garnered praise from book lovers all across. The London-based author moved to the UK from Kenya in childhood and grew up with three sisters and two brothers. It's this bond that she brought to life with Western Lane, telling the story of three sisters who grow up in the absence of a mother and their bond with one another. Reading the nuances of the squash in Western Lane, one could easily imagine that Chetna was a child prodigy. But growing up in the UK, she didn't pick up the squash racquet until her late teens as she calls herself "extremely uncoordinated" as a child. It wasn't until her 20s and 30s that she played squash properly. "I always liked the squash court and felt at ease at the squash court. There was something about the squash court itself, about the simple white box: it’s such a surreal, unfamiliar place, where time seems suspended and the outside world can be forgotten," Chetna added. It was her physical presence in the court for years that helped her bring the experience to the book.

However, writing wasn't her first passion. In fact, before taking up writing as a profession, she worked as an accountant for many years. While still keeping her day job, Chetna started taking writing seriously only a decade ago, wherein she wrote many short stories. Those years brought with it many rejections but also a couple of acceptances where her stories were published in The Paris Review, The Stinging Fly, and The Dublin Review. In 2022, Chetna was bestowed with the Plimpton Prize for Fiction for one of her short stories. Having been brought up on a great diet of books, she was always interested in the world of fiction, especially sci-fi and thrillers. And this love later metamorphosised into her passion for writing.

Western Lane | Global Indian

While she was glued to her desk at home writing short stories, she kept developing the story of Gopi for three years. It began with a month-long writing workshop in 2018 that played a catalyst in changing the trajectory of her life. It was in this workshop that she first developed the story of Gopi, however, it wasn't until the next six months that she began working on the book. "For a good six months, I read a lot of children's stories, and a lot of them were retrospective narratives," Chetna said in a podcast.

Having a personal tryst with squash and grief of losing her mother, Chetna was able to draw inspiration for the story of Gopi in Western Lane. "I lost my mother in my early 20s, so that's how I depict the grief part in the novel," she said. Western Lane tells the story of Gopi and her sisters who have recently lost their mother. Their father is bereft and struggling to parent his daughters, and encourages Gopi to hone her skills in squash.

Chetna Maroo | Global Indian

For someone who loves music and art, Chetna knew that writing was something that she had a chance with. Despite her novel being longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, Chetna doesn't believe in giving too much into the highs and lows of life. "I am in a happy state but I like to keep things steady. That's the best way forward." added the Global Indian.

Reading Time: 4 min

Lila Lakshmanan: The Bombay-bred editor who paved her way to French New Wave cinema

(September 27, 2024) A group of trailblazing French directors exploded onto the film scene in the 1950s seeking to revolutionise cinematic conventions with artistic liberty and creative control. Steering away from the linear tropes of storytelling, these filmmakers were keen to create a new language, and this revolution gave birth to French New Wave Cinema. With pioneers like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut at the center of the movement, it became a defining moment for world cinema. And amidst this path-breaking current was an Indian editor — Lila Lakshmanan. The India-born and Sorbonne-educated Lakshmanan found herself cutting her way through the French New Wave in the 60s by working with stalwarts like Godard and Truffaut. She was among the first Indian women to find a place in world cinema. From Bombay to film school in Paris It was in 1935 that her story began in Jabalpur where she was born to a French mother and an Indian father, who was the director of All India Radio. Owing to her dad's transferable job, Lila shifted base from Lucknow to Delhi to later Bombay, where she spent the initial years of her life. However, after her parents' separation, a 12-year-old Lila packed

r parents' separation, a 12-year-old Lila packed her bags and left for a boarding school in England. With Indian-French roots, Lila had a hard time adjusting to her new life at the boarding school that was too strict in its discipline. However, in her own words, it was this strictness that forced her to evaluate life from many corners.

Two years later, Lila found herself at a student's ball in Paris where she met a 24-year-old actor who wrote and made films. The meeting sparked a connection, however, things soon fizzled out after an exchange of a handful of letters. But this brush with someone from the world of cinema piqued her interest in films, and she vowed to either marry a filmmaker or become one herself.

[caption id="attachment_7390" align="aligncenter" width="567"] Lila Lakshmanan in a still from Breathless[/caption]

At 17, she enrolled herself in the Sorbonne to study English Literature. But her English way of thinking didn't find a perfect landing in the French world, and she had to unlearn and learn a lot to graduate from the University of Paris.

"But I failed with bad marks (two on 20). My teacher said, 'poor thing she doesn't know how to think'. I was not dismayed. I managed to learn how to think. The French way of thinking is based on logic and construction and the thought must be synthesised. The English prefer you to know your subject well and then allow you to present your thoughts in your own rendition coherently," the Global Indian told a daily.

Lakshmanan still had the desire of being a part of cinema, and this dream led her to a French film school IDHEC (Institut des hautes etudes cinematographiques) where she studied editing as opposed to filmmaking because she didn't consider herself creative enough. It was here that she met Jean Vautrin, a French writer and filmmaker. The two got married in 1953 and after the birth of their first child in 1955, the couple moved to Bombay.

While Vautrin found a job as a French Literature professor at the Wilson College, Lila taught French at the Alliance Francaise. It was around the same time that Vautrin assisted Italian director Roberto Rossellini on his documentary on India titled Inde, Terre Mere.

The beginning of French New Wave

While Rossellini was working his magic with Italian neo-realist cinema, in France, French New Wave cinema had started to spread its wings. Steering away from the traditional studio-bound filmmaking style, the avant-garde French filmmakers were exploring new narratives and visual styles. They often used handheld cameras, natural lighting, improvised dialogue, and non-linear storytelling to create a sense of immediacy and realism. Rejecting the polished, studio-bound films of the time, the French New Wave favored on-location shooting, low budgets, and unconventional editing, such as jump cuts. This movement celebrated the director as the "auteur," or creative force, and explored themes of existentialism, love, and rebellion. And this new art movement found Godard and Truffaut at the center of its rising.

Lila Lakshmanan ended up working with two of the biggest French filmmakers of all time as an editor. It all began when she moved to France by the end of the 50s with her husband. And one balmy afternoon while walking down the Champs Elysees, she met Godard. "My husband asked him if he could employ me as an intern and Godard agreed, that's how it started and I became his assistant editor. I first film I worked with him was Breathless. It was a weird experience because he didn't know what he was doing. He sort of imposed me onto editor Cecile Decugis, who was in the Algerian Resistance," she added.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAuqDI4EAl4

Learning the ropes from Godard

Working with a legend like Godard wasn't an easy experience for Lila Lakshmanan. For someone who was keen to revolutionise cinema, he came across as a complex person. "Godard was a sadist really, and he liked to see how far he could go with somebody and that didn't show immediately. He would test and see if you yielded," said Lila.

But she found her footing in the world of Godard and the new wave cinema as she went on to edit A Woman Is A Woman. The 1961 film was a musical comedy starring Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo that went on to win big at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.

The next film that came on Lila's table to edit was Virve Sa Vie. Deeply influenced by Bertolt Brecht's theory of epic theatre, Godard borrowed a new aesthetic for the film. The jump cuts that disrupted the flow of editing made Virve Sa Vie a masterpiece in itself. The film turned out to be the fourth most popular film at the French box office in 1962 and also won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival.

[caption id="attachment_7391" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Anna Karina in a still from Jean-Luc Godard's Virve Sa Vie[/caption]

Lila Lakshmanan was working with a taskmaster like Godard, but every time she surprised him with the efficacy of her work. "Godard never took anyone's advice; he had always made up his mind. We used to scratch the films and stick them together. If you missed a frame, it was considered bad luck. Godard used to stand over the editor to see if she did not make a mistake. I wasn't intimidated by him because he tested me and he knew I could step over his toes," added Lakshmanan.

In 1963, she worked with Godard on two films - Les Carabiniers and Contempt. While the former enjoyed a good reception at box office, it was the latter that has been a point of influence in cinema till now. Touted to be the greatest work of art produced in postwar Europe, Contempt is ranked 60th on the BBC's list of 100 greatest foreign-language films.

Lila's skill of editing was also explored by another maverick director of the French Wave cinema, Francois Truffaut. The editor collaborated with Truffaut on his 1962 romantic drama Jules and Jim. Set against the backdrop of World War I, the film is a tragic love triangle that has made it to Empire magazine's The 100 Best Films of World Cinema.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nEtiba8_gsk

"Truffaut was independent-minded like Godard. He often put his mind to work and was more organised than Godard. He had a clear plan; he wrote his own scripts. There were men that would control directorship, editing and scripting of the film," she added.

It was during this time that Lila Lakshmanan separated from Jean Vautrin, and married Atilla Biro, a Hungarian architect-turned-surrealist painter. After working with the French filmmakers for a few years, Lila bid adieu to her career as an editor and focused on her married life.

Though Lila's stint was short-lived, she was among the first Indian women to cut her way through French Wave Cinema in the 60s. Working with stalwarts like Godard and Truffaut is an achievement in itself, and she stood like a pro editing film after film and contributing to these masterpieces of work. At a time when not many women thought of crossing over to other continent for work, Lila was brushing shoulders with the bigwigs of French Wave Cinema, making her presence count in the sphere of world cinema.

Asmita Kerkar: Helping fight food insecurity in Minnesota through design psychology

(January 10, 2023) Bernice Wimmer has been trying everything to fight the hunger crisis in the city of Alexandria in Minnesota, and was looking for support in redesigning her outreach food shelf (a point where families shop for the rescued food) to help improve shopping flow and focus on fresh food. Keen for a solution, she was still resisting the change. However, a meeting with Asmita Kerkar, the layout designer with the Foundation for Essential Needs (FFEN), changed it all as she helped create dignified shopping experiences for people facing food insecurity. "Having someone experienced, who knows space design and the psychology behind it, was a gift," Bernice said. In the three years that Asmita has worked with FFEN, she has helped improve the turnout at almost seven food shelves in Minnesota through design psychology, helping create a safe platform for community engagement. [caption id="attachment_48115" align="aligncenter" width="639"] Asmita Kerkar[/caption] "Food insecurity is huge in the US," Asmita tells Global Indian. Almost 34 million people in the US are food insecure, a statistic that shocked her. "I had no idea that the hunger crisis was acute in the US. We have around 400 food shelves in Minnesota, out of which over

curity is huge in the US," Asmita tells Global Indian. Almost 34 million people in the US are food insecure, a statistic that shocked her. "I had no idea that the hunger crisis was acute in the US. We have around 400 food shelves in Minnesota, out of which over 250 have consulted with FFEN at some point." Working with a nonprofit that's helping Minnesota fight the hunger crisis by managing food shelves in the state, Asmita realised design psychology is most needed by these people as they have a stigma of shame to shop from the food shelves. "Coming from low-income families, they are unable to put food on the table every day, and are in a dilemma about choosing to pay the rent or medical bills or using the money to buy food, " says Asmita, adding, "These people get food through donations which happen mostly in spatial experiences that feel unwelcoming due to lack of choice. But what FFEN or we as spatial designers are trying to do is create a grocery store environment for these people but without exchange of money and the freedom to pick and choose."

Understanding that a space can have an impact on people's psychology, Asmita started bringing more colours to the food shelves by collaborating with artists. "Certain colours can uplift your mood. Moreover, signage plays a pivotal role as language is important. We work around environmental graphics like 'Take As Much As You Need' instead of 'Limited to 5LBS' making the experience welcoming to them." Even changing linear aisles to diagonal has helped improve the shopping experience of people at food shelves.

[caption id="attachment_48116" align="aligncenter" width="674"] Outreach food shelf[/caption]

Architecture to design psychology - shifting gears

Fashion designing was Belgaum-born Asmita's first choice but an incident made her shift gear in her career choice. Seeing a beautiful heritage home being torn down in the neighbourhood "broke her heart." This prompted her to read more about architecture and its history and led her to sit for The National Association of Students of Architecture exam. "Though I wasn't good at sketching, my dad and my teacher believed in me and encouraged me to follow my dream." After bagging a seat in Bachelor of Architecture, Asmita had an epiphany that it was the correlation between spaces and human psychology that intrigued her more than the exterior of the building.

After graduating, she took up freelancing projects for interior design leading to an interest in spatial experience design, which intensified after arriving in the US for her master's in environmental design at the ArtCenter College of Design. Learning the psychology of spaces opened up a new horizon for Asmita, and her class on Design Matters nudged her toward designing for social impact. "During my thesis, I started volunteering with FFEN as a layout designer and introduced them to the psychology of design and spaces and its impact. Seeing the feedback pushed me to look for opportunities in nonprofit," says the spatial designer, who initially worked with a corporate as sustaining on a nonprofit as an international student wasn't feasible. "However, I kept volunteering with FFEN."

Asmita Kerkar | Global Indian

Designing for social impact

Opportunity knocked on her door when FFEN approached her to work as a design strategist after receiving a part of the $147,000 grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to design Fresh Food First - food rescue toolkits to help preserve the freshness of the rescued food. "Food makes 18% of landfills in Minnesota where it breaks down and produces methane, impacting climate change. I wanted food shelves to know why it was important to save the rescued food so that it doesn't land up in landfills," she adds. Most of the rescued food comes from farmers, family donations, food drives, restaurants, and few grocery stores like Trader Joe's. "All the donated food goes to a food bank that distributes it to the food shelves. It's again dependent on supply and demand."

Asmita Kerkar

So, what are the toolkits that Asmita has created? "It's mostly guidebooks or graphical posters. In the food shelves, there is a scarcity mindset. Since the supply isn't enough, you don't have enough to showcase. How do you display less produce in a way that people think it's more? You use a tilted basket and pile up everything at an eye level. We try to design such small things that play with the mind of the person rather than their reality which you cannot change." Moreover, the toolkits create awareness in case of food shelves displaying food in wrong equipment. "Most display onions and potatoes together but are unaware that they produce ethylene gas which leads to the darkening of potatoes. Providing a list of ethylene-sensitive and ethylene producers list, helps them stock the produce in a better way. Another aspect is recycling food. Up to 2-3 weeks expired baby food can be consumed by baby animals on the farms," explains Asmita.

[caption id="attachment_48119" align="aligncenter" width="744"] McLeod Food shelf in Minnesota[/caption]

This month her team will pilot the project in seven-ten food shelves. Over the years, Asmita's work has helped create an inclusive and dignified space for people to shop. "It was also a learning experience for FFEN as to what is design psychology and why trauma-informed design is important."

Asmita, who loves baking and going on walks, measures her success by the smiles on the people's faces. "Design for social impact is what I am interested in, and knowing that my work is helping hundreds of people every day makes me content," she signs off.

Follow Asmita Kerkar on LinkedIn

Reading Time: 5 min

The Right Click: Photographer Clare Arni has documented the India story over three decades

(December 19, 2023) In 1993 , Clare Arni hopped into a Maruti 800 with her sister and her son, to begin an 800-km journey along the River Kaveri, starting at the source, Thalakaveri, in Coorg, and ending where it empties itself into the Bay of Bengal, reaching the sea in Poompuhar. Their goal: To document the lives that have flourished around this ancient water body, as it twists and turns its way through the Deccan, morphing into the giver of life at the Kings bathing Ghat, and the keeper of the dead in Srirangapatna, where thousands perform the final rites of their loved ones. In 'Disappearing professions in Urban India', a collaboration with her sister, Oriole Henry, the siblings wandered through six of India's old cities, finding professions that were on the verge of being relegated to annals of history, from mattress fluffers to billboard painters. Straddling varied themes that include architecture, travel, social documentary, and cultural heritage, Clare Arni has spent the last three decades documenting the India Story, in all its varied richness. From working with celebrated Indian architects like B.V. Doshi, Charles Correa, Geoffrey Bawa and Sanjay Mohe, to documenting remote tribes deep in the Sundarbans, Clare

he Sundarbans, Clare Arni has done it all. Her internationally acclaimed work can be found in prominent galleries abroad and has been featured in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Design Magazine, Tatler Conde Nast (UK), and Abitare (Italy). Her expansive career includes book publications with top British publishers like Phaidon, Thames and Hudson, and Dorling Kindersley. Clare's long-term projects document the rich tapestry of life in various Indian locales such as Hampi, Banaras, Northern Karnataka, Rajasthan, Sundarbans, and Orissa.

[caption id="attachment_47639" align="aligncenter" width="394"] Clare Arni[/caption]

Early days

Born in Scotland in 1962, Arni arrived in India when her father was transferred here for work. He established the Vikaasa school in Madurai, where Arni also studied until the age of 13, when, she tells Global Indian, she was “rudely uprooted from a place that I considered home and sent to a mediocre boarding school in England.” She followed this up with a degree in art history and film and media in Scotland, but she says, “I returned to India as soon as I possibly could. When I think of the nostalgia of home, I still recollect the bird song and hot winds of Madurai,” she smiles.

Arni returned to India at the age of 22, soon after college, to earn a living as a photographer. Self-taught, she learned on the job, attempting to create as diverse a portfolio as she could manage. “I started with fashion photography and did campaigns for Weekender and Wearhouse,” Arni recalls. “I did any work that came my way, photographing everything from racehorses to chickens, and then making black-and white-prints in my darkroom.”

Architecture calling

Her calling, however, lay in architectural photography. Clare was soon shooting directly for architects, documenting their projects publications and competition entries as well as for architectural and interior magazines. “I worked for many Bangalore architects but also for several projects for Charles Correa, BV Doshi, Geoffrey Bawa and Sanjay Mohe. For Charles Correa I documented the town Of Bagalkot before it was submerged by the dam and the house that he built for himself in Bangalore,” she explains. Apart from many design magazines in India, her images have been published in renowned international magazines like Abitare (Italy) Tatler, Conde Nast (UK) Wallpaper, The Wall Street journal and Harvard Design magazine. Her work is also part of Phaidon, Thames and Hudson and Dorling Kindersley, all of whom are leading British book publishers.

[caption id="attachment_47643" align="aligncenter" width="507"] PhotoL Clare Arni[/caption]

Documenting Stories

She also started shooting longer book projects for writers like George Mitchell. These were rewarding as they allowed her to travel extensively around India documenting places like Hampi, Banaras and Northern Karnataka. “I also worked for NGOs like Welt Hunger Hilfe where I travelled to remote communities in Rajasthan, Sundarbans, and Orissa documenting the work that they had done with self-help groups, women’s empowerment and updating agricultural practices,” says Arni. Her travels have been continuous even after she had her son.

Her Kaveri River project took a full four months, which she spent on the road with her son and sister, documenting the civilisation that had grown and flourished on its banks. “The river became part of our everyday lives walking its banks and swimming in its waters, taking coracles to the bottom of waterfalls, and flying an ultralight to capture it from the air,” Arni recalls. “I have been very lucky as my work and passion was the same and I was able to see and document so much of India.”

Going solo

After all of this she started to have solo photographic exhibitions and it was what she admits was liberating as she could work without clients and create works with total freedom. This is when she began to look at living cultural heritage instead of just built architecture. One of her biggest shows was ‘Disappearing professions in Urban India’, done in collaboration with her sister, Oriole Henry, where they examined historical professions associated with six cities and how they were surviving and adapting to the present day. “It was a wonderful way to get to know these cities,” Arni says. “We wandered through the streets searching for these professions and often found that they had either gone or that only a handful remained to carry them forward. We found mattress fluffers, tinners, hand painted billboard painters and calligraphers. We documented the changing face of single screen cinemas and stand-alone coffee shops that were making way for multiplexes and international chains,” she explains. This exhibition was shown around India and in America.

[caption id="attachment_47645" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Photo: Clare Arni[/caption]

A full life

Arni likes to work on long term projects where she gets immersed in the subject over several years. Some of these are ongoing. Some of the new books that she has done are directly with clients where she conceptualises, shoots, and helps with design inputs. She has enjoyed working collaboratively with talented photographers like Selvaprakash Lakshmanan on many of these books. “I have had a rewarding and challenging new direction at this point of my life. I am head of arts programming at a charitable trust school, RBANMS in Bangalore. I am extremely fulfilled working and interacting with these children and am excited by the programs that we are working on together with a host of visiting artists that share their time and skills with the school,” she says. Her advice to newbie photographers is that patience is important and spending time with your subject whatever it may be is key. “Even if you think you have got the shot, stop for a moment and think how else I could do this, experiment and you will get a better shot,” she advises. Looking ahead, she is working on finishing a couple of books, and spending time in the school.

Follow her on Instagram, Facebook