Drawing the fine lines of Bangalore Metro stations - meet Sushma G

BENGALURU: Architect Sushma G has spent all her working life at Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). Having joined in 2008 as a Junior Engineer, she is the today Manager, Planning and Design. She has grown with BMRCL and moved from designing Metro’s Phase-I stations to Phase-II stations.

“I take the Metro from my home at Baiyappanahalli to MG Road, and then take a cab to Shanti Nagar. It fills me with such pride that I am seeing what I drew on a daily basis,” the architect told TNIE. The Bengalurean completed her B.Arch at UVCE. “Metro had not started in the city then, and was only being spoken about. I applied and got in, and there was no looking back. BMRCL is such a woman-friendly workplace. Just the number of woman train operators we have is self-explanatory,” she states. 

Sushma’s job often involves site visits which are male-dominated, with civil contractors and workers. Detailing the work she has done, Sushma says, “Each Metro station is aesthetically pleasing. I remember when we started, we had Delhi Metro as the standard. It had Overhead Equipment technology for supplying power to the trains, and we decided on having a Third Rail that would supply power. Without anything hanging above as in the case of railway stations, Bengaluru Metro looks very pleasing.” Whether underground or elevated, each is a signature station, Sushma explains. 

The challenge in the job is when trouble erupts during execution. “Some utility would come in the way, and we need to get back to the drawing board and rework all over again,” she says. What are the day-to-day challenges? “I think when a man points out a mistake or flaw in anyone’s work, be it a junior or senior, it is taken much more seriously than when a woman does it. A woman needs to prove repeatedly that she knows the job and has to earn her place, “ the architect explains. Her husband Shivashankar, whom she describes as “extremely supportive”, works as a Public Relations Officer at Red Cross Society.