These two new community spaces in Govandi aim to help locals transform their lives

Women in the neighbourhood take a break from their daily chores as they chat and relax at Awaz. Pics/ Sayyed Sameer Abedi

American architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright had famously said, "We create our buildings and then they create us." Thousands of miles away, in Govandi, a small group of people in the resettlement buildings of Natwar Parekh Compound are following this maxim where they've been able to reimagine spaces with art to improve community living and foster meaningful interactions in a tough neighbourhood.

(From left to right) Tayyaba Darvesh, Parveen Shaikh and Sana Shaikh

Community Design Agency (CDA), an architect and urban planners' collective, recently opened two new community spaces, Humraahi and Awaz, in addition to the already existing Kitaab Mahal in the eastern suburb to create an ecosystem of creative spaces through architectural changes focused on arts and well-being of its residents.

A view of the exteriors of the community library, Kitaab Mahal

When we dropped by on a Saturday afternoon, we were greeted with warmth and excitement from the youth. Parveen Shaikh, the lead community organiser at CDA for Govandi, explains the journey, "I was born on a footpath in Sewri. It was a dream for me to have a house of my own, and an address proof to show the government. But soon, we realised that in all the excitement of this relocation, we lost a sense of community and livelihood. One day at an awards function, I came across people from the Community Design Agency and a plan to make the space more habitable for the community took shape," the 46-year-old reveals. "The idea was to introduce artistic interventions that made people reclaim the compound as their own and retain the sense of social cohesion that was lost during the displacement," adds Natasha Sharma, lead for arts and design programmes, CDA.

Children play a sound bath during a healing session at Humraahi

Tucked away in a corner of the compound is Kitaab Mahal, the area's community library. Inaugurated in 2022, it is painted in bright colours where shelves are lined with children's books and hand drawn paintings, the space originally cropped up as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Because of the restrictions during the pandemic, kids in the area found it extremely difficult to study or even access digital tools. This room served as a space where they could engage with reading and learning," Sharma tells us.

Natasha Sharma

As children started frequenting Kitaab Mahal, new activities and interactions cropped up that demanded more space. "In October 2023, a murder occurred [in the compound] because of a minor scuffle between kids during a festival, and it got us thinking about the prevalent anger in the area that could possibly overpower their responses to situations. It became necessary to introduce interventions where people could access therapeutic tools and engage with models of well-being like expressive arts therapy, music therapy, or even dance movement therapy. That is how Humraahi emerged," Sharma recalls.

Designed to accommodate people's needs and not the other way around, Humraahi represents the youth's very own playground. "There are no rules. We organise weekly workshops; however, we use this as a space without any judgment where people can express themselves freely. They discuss their dreams and aspirations and this actually instils confidence to look beyond their daily challenges," reasons Tayyaba Darvesh, the 23-year-old facilitator of Humraahi. Awaz, a room in another building, is a space led by the women of the area that focuses on promoting leisure and relaxation. " The women here tend to their families and are burdened with responsibilities, 24/7. The lack of space in their homes gives them little privacy. This is why such spaces are important," Sharma reveals.

With plans to start six-month mentorship programmes for Humraahi based on storytelling and filmmaking with sessions on art therapy as well, the area is teeming with excitement. Children are having fun, while the women joke with abandon about their day. The infectious, positive energy is hard to miss. Shaikh's words stay with us, "Healing is all about giving importance to yourself and engaging with your loved ones, otherwise you are lost."

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