Didi Contractor- An Inspiring Aura

"I imagine building as a growing plant within the landscape”

Illustration by Aradhana Nema

It was in 2017 when she had won the Women Artists, Architects, and Artists, (WADe)Asia Life Time Achievement Award. That divine and humble charm and positivity on her face was magical.

I was just one of the few star-struck students, who somehow grabbed the opportunity to attend that conference. The first premiere of the documentary film, “Didi Contractor- Marrying the earth to building was also a part of the conference. She had been a role model for all of us who were in love with vernacular architecture. But watching the movie, sitting in the same room as her, observing her humble expressions and emotional aura around was incredible. “I am thrilled by her architectural vision, admire her ideals, her bravery, and strength of character, and want to explore her creative ideas, which differ from everything that I had assumed in my life so far.”, says Steffi Giaracuni, the director of the documentary. This is the impact she had on everyone around. She created a magical aura of inspiration. “I have got it”, she said ecstatically in one of the scenes... She dreamed of the roof she wanted in one of her designs. It had been on halt for a while, waiting for the perfect fit. So passionately she explained the idea to her team with her proportionate sketches and love for it.

In that moment everyone in the room was fascinated by her passion and the spiritual connection and inspired by the way she spoke about the design, the materials, and building with mud. It was like living in a dream. It filled her with joy to speak about all the possibilities that these vernacular materials, especially mud had to offer.

Design and architecture seemed like her kids. She raised every design and home with equal love, every inch with so much care. She is not just a pioneer for mud and vernacular architecture, but also an idol for how love and care can make architecture fulfilling. Most of her projects are found around Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh, and include over 15 homes and three institutions, including the Nishtha Rural Health, Education and Environment Center in Sidhbari, the Sambhaavnaa Institute of Public Policy and Politics in Palampur, and the Dharmalaya Institute in Bir.

She designed through thoughts and conveyed through sketches and proportions. Age and comfort were of least importance and the physical and emotional connection with her designs was foremost. It is a huge loss for the architecture community, but she has indeed left an inspiring energy behind, that sparks in all those young architects like me.

May her soul rest in peace!