(1975-2021)

Suparna grew up in New Delhi, went to Springdales School on Pusa Road, and joined SPA for the Bachelor of Architecture program in 1993. You would always find Suparna carrying her impish smile, and wearing her trademark eye liner, batik kurtas, jeans and traditional earrings. There were many moods and facets to Suparna- mischievous, pensive, thoughtful, sensitive, temperamental, gentle, creative, but always kind- always ready to help others. If there was fun to be had, Suparna would always be there. She was a great friend.

Suparna could also be very moody and stubborn. She was a very private person and often stayed away from social media. While she knew a lot about those around her, it was sometime hard to know what was going on with her. Often, it was hard to get more from her than her smile and 'main theek hoon'; nothing else. She made a few close friends, and with them she developed strong lifelong bonds. While you could count on her to be there for you in the good times, you could most certainly count on her in the bad. She would remember the tiniest likes and dislikes of those in her tribe- favourite flowers, songs, colours, food and desserts. When we all moved on from college life, she kept in touch with those close to her, remembering birthdays, anniversaries and even kids' birthdays. While Suparna never married, she had a partner for many years.

Suparna's interest in architectural journalism was piqued while interning with Suneet Paul (former Editor-in-chief of A+D magazine). After SPA, she worked at Indian Architect and Builder as a correspondent, where she had many contributions to the world of architectural writing. She was fluent at making the creative works of architects shine through her words. She stayed with 'Indian Architect and Builder' for almost a decade, rising from a Correspondent to Creative Head, and finally to the Content Director.

Through the years, Suparna authored articles in acclaimed architectural journals such as the Architectural Review and co-authored works with Raj Rewal and M.S. Siali, established stalwarts of Architecture in India. She followed her passion and through her work demonstrated how valuable great writing is to the world of design. Looking for a new challenge in 2010, she started her own independent company- ' Twentininethirty' that focused on assisting design companies to creatively build and manage a digital presence.

Suparna lost her mother within a year after graduating from SPA. Being a single child, this brought Suparna closer to her father and made her a little more withdrawn. Though she always made the effort to meet up with friends when they were visiting Delhi, her long periods of reclusiveness meant that there invariably were periods when many of us didn't know how she was. In 2021, when Delhi was struggling with an agressive outbreak of Covid-19, Suparna's father contracted the infection and was hospitalized. Suparna spent many days and nights outside the ICU at the hospital, but sadly he passed away. By the time Suparna cremated her father, she too had contracted the infection and started having the symptoms. Tragically, we also lost Suparna within a week on May 13th 2021.

The Suparna Rajguru Beautiful Minds Writing Award has been constituted by her friends to celebrate Suparna's life, her relentless passion for writing, and to encourage young minds to think and to explore the medium of writing beyond the realms of the routine.