Education, an approach to learning that fosters the co creative participation of all human dimensions (body, instincts, heart, mind, and consciousness), with particular application to early childhood development. Additionally, her areas of research include the African indigenous value system of Ubuntu, social responsibility, participatory democracy, citizenship and community engagement. She has a profound interest in honouring and harnessing the knowledge within communities for further development and has trained as a mentor in the UNESCO Knowledge for Change (K4C) Project which aims to include and build community partnership into the research process. 

Her most recent employment was at the Gandhi Development Trust, a Civil Society Organisation promoting peace and nonviolence based at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), where she coordinated a community-based training project for early childhood practitioners and parents. Previously, she taught English at senior secondary level and was a head of the department of languages. She holds honours and masters degrees in English Literature, a bachelor of arts in law and a postgraduate teaching diploma.

Kanya is the representative of the South African Diaspora of Indian settlers at the Mumbai Münster Institute of Advanced Studies (MMIAS) at the University of Mumbai, in which capacity she presents and publishes on various aspects of the experiences of the diasporic Indian. 

She has presented widely at international and local conferences on her areas of interest and PhD research and has published journal articles and contributed book chapters. She is regularly invited by local and international universities as an individual speaker and as a panel member to present on a range of socio-political and education issues. 

As a social activist in both apartheid and democratic South Africa, Kanya is strongly committed to contributing to the fruition of participatory democracy and social responsibility for interconnected, interdependent and interrelated communities.