An international roller skater who represented India.
An architect whose projects have drawn national attention.
The first woman to lead the world’s largest architecture student organization.
A social entrepreneur working to take design beyond paying clients into the communities.
These are not four different people. They are all Samruddhi Sanjay Chaphale from Nagpur.
Samruddhi speaks
(Thank you for the introduction, Pranay Arya, Founder and Blogger – News Dirt)
Honestly, it feels like a blessing to be living a life of such broad horizons while staying true to my choices and practices. God has been kind! A strong sense of purpose has been the driving force since very early on and has hence been the foundation of my life.
Sailing in an unconventional boat, pursuing two major careers in sports and architecture since the age of five, has been a long journey, you see! It has made me realise that I have a different definition of “settling.” For me, settling is to stay firm on unsettling. It is an act of choice — to say no to what doesn’t resonate. Settling also means being a strong decision-maker and taking action. It carries a deeper meaning of what my parents always say: to take everyone along, especially your loved ones, while you chart your own path. Hence, my major life and career decisions are tailor-made and not marked by any trends. Be it the farm-to-table design practice module, innovating and experimenting in design, still going to skate with the kids, starting a non-profit while running my small business, being a voice for the voiceless, or opting for slow, nurtured, balanced living — the list goes on, as I don’t decide to settle right here.
I realized that our role as architects, as we are taught in school, is that of society-makers! We are not box-makers who simply fit into a box; that is not our job! We have to spread our wings, and opportunities will fall into place. I realized this is a purposeful task, so why should I limit it to one category of architecture and design? Or rather, why should I keep it only to myself instead of bringing in more socially aware people and change-makers to drive the change? Authenticity is key, and that is why my expression of being multifaceted stems right from childhood, wherein my self-confidence and my parents’ support and encouragement led me to create history in various fields — be it sports, architecture, leadership, education, cultural activities, or any other extracurricular. I would do it all with a lot of passion, zest, and discipline.
I always wanted to learn on the ground — more of an experience in life, like when you travel, meet people, and talk to people of different age groups, cultures, and societies, and they share stories about their lives; it inspires you. Be it a construction worker on my site or a child skating on the track, I love to interact with them because their stories inspire me. I thus started my very own Sam’s Drafting Board, an architecture and design practice that is a journey beyond professional practice and a larger pot of ideas around blending design, skating, and storytelling. In follow-up came Levellers Foundation, an architects’ organization to practice social architecture and community-driven initiatives, with the key motive of leaving a legacy through my designs and bringing about change and reform in society.
As they say, experiences shape you. My journey gave a deeper meaning to the resilience I had first developed on roller skates, especially after losing my beloved father. Sport had taught me to return after a fall. Architecture made me limitless. We are always told that the sky is blue or that trees are green. But why? Trees can be red too! It is your vocabulary; it is your vision. You have to make the user transcend through your imagination, and that is what architects are meant to do. We give experience through our designs, right?
The athlete and the architect in me never really separated. They keep meeting. And hence the Skater-Architect emerged — one that is born to inspire the younger generation through storytelling and shaping one’s own identity through one’s own dreams.
Skating to me is freedom. Architecture is stillness in time!
My wheels now carry questions with the force of an ambition.
An international roller skater. A leader and mentor. An Indian architect. A social entrepreneur and empath. And still moving.
One quote that really resonates with me is: “All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” — Picasso
Keep believing, keep imagining, and let’s paint this world and make it more sustainable, happy, and inclusive. That’s the dream!
