Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu chat to AT about the lessons to be learnt from rickshaws at rush hour,  intergenerational households, and Krishnamurti’s wise words.

What brings you to India?
Mike Tonkin We’re travelling all over India. It’s about re-kindling things really. We’ve revisited a lot of things we’ve seen over the last 35 years. There is so much inspiration in India, and almost every day you see something you don’t expect to see and that lifts your heart, whether it’s interaction with people or beautiful buildings or fantastic food.

Anna Liu We see so many things that would seem impossible at home – the way people move through the city; the way they gather together and communicate with each other; the way everything’s done by hand. It’s such as different mindset to ours that it seems almost miraculous. Things that would be invisible in the west are totally visible here: the recycling system; the courier system; the way things get from A to B.

Do you think the things you’ve observed in India will impact on the way you work?
Mike Liu I think our work has to become more agile. So we definitely need to be more adaptive and responsive to things. What you see in India is that everything’s an opportunity. We’ve done a few talks while we’ve been here, and every time we do one, we end up having a conversation with somebody that last for four hours. That’s part of the reason you travel; to meet people. My phone is full of people we want to visit and places we want to visit. It’s like this trip is just a precursor for the next trip.

Anna Liu There is an intensity about the way people interact with the city and with each other. You see things that look impossible, like a rickshaw dodging a bike at the very last minute. You move through the traffic as though you’re in water. It’s as though there are no rules, but everything has to be negotiated and somehow everything works. At home, we like to impose all these rules. I feel like here you learn to look around a problem, and work out what to do.

What makes it work?
Anna Liu There is a sense of duty to other people. Not in a negative sense that feels like an obligation; it’s more about commitment and care. Indian families live in a much more integrated way than us.

Mike Tonkin There are multigenerational households, and an acceptance that there are certain points in your life where you might need, or be able to give, different kinds of support. It’s a really relevant time for us to think about this idea; that there are cycles of learning and teaching, teaching and learning. It’s like the quote by the guru Krishnamurti: ‘”You yourself are the teacher and the pupil.” But there are times when you feel more able to give back.