A LACERATION - Encountering Skin Through Language
Parsons MFA Thesis Catalog
Excerpt




Since the universe claims to have begun from a bang, I would not neglect the possibility of creation in the obliteration of skin. In fact, I believe that at this moment, an artist becomes the host of this fiery hell, until they/she/he/it releases it in a form. Formulating a language is often the beginning of this practice. An endless saunter with a friend, gatherings with strangers, conducting intimate experiments, indulging in care, or even talking every day to your mother can birth this language.

FOREVER YOUR BABY GIRL
Back Matter
Excerpt 



I am obsessed with my Mother and she is obsessed with her daughter in America. One day she asked me to send a photograph of an American Papaya to compare it with an Indian one. I wonder why it interests her. I do little experiments

with her. On our everyday call, I try to spark debates with her to elicit a reaction. “What is the price of the Hop on Hop off bus in New York? I saw it on the Facebook page I liked”
“I don’t know. I might be going on a solo trip.”
I am not. I don’t know why I said that.
“ For how long will you experience life

alone”
Perhaps, I said it to ensure that she is still the same and I am still that apple that fell very far

from the tree. I am an extraterrestrial.

Meet the turtle woman on the banks of Chandragiri
Rukhmabai Initiatives Writing Grant
Excerpt




The locals had caught the turtle in the tank. As they put the tank down, Jain tried to hold on to the turtle and it pulled her with it towards the river. “It was so fast and heavy. They were all men surrounding me, and I was just a puny woman holding onto the turtle. I put my knees on the back of the turtle to stop it. Like, all of my body weight was on a turtle. At that moment, it pulled me with it for at least 20 m,” describes Jain.   

https://rukhmabai.com/meet-the-turtle-woman-on-the-banks-of-chandragiri/

Foraminifera is her favourite proxy to study oceanographic processes at different timescales
Rukhmabai Initiatives Writing Grant
Excerpt

“ While studying ocean acidification, I have been able to identify the first and most explicit record of the Holocene Climate Optima  from the Arabian Sea [Ambokar et al, 2022, 2023]. Mugdha Ambokar and I have reported certain pteropod taxa for the first time from the off-Saurashtra region, and have validated that they have a biological sensitivity to changes in water temperatures rather than water depths [as considered before].”

She simultaneously mentors and prepares the future generations of women in science. “I do not know why I am a female magnet! I have three PhD students, all girls,” she quips. Following her path, one of her senior fellows, Mugdha Ambokar, will become the only trained pteropod taxonomist in the country after her. She is set to complete her PhD next year. 
https://rukhmabai.com/foraminifera-is-her-favourite-proxy-to-study-oceanographic-processes-at-different-timescales/