Astro_Roamer

A couple of weeks back, I was invited to participate in the India Science Festival for a short docu film shoot. The festival was held at IISER (Indian Institute for Science Education and Research) Pune this year. The two day festival hosted many interesting science and scicomm events, workshops and booths.
One such workshop was organised by the Nukkad Theory , an innovative scicomm concept through performing arts. During the festival, they shot an interview with me and a few other scientists, and overnight came up with a brilliant fun short film "Khoj". 🎥🎬 It was a great pleasure for me to watch the screening of the film at the festival, which was extremely well appreciated by the audience 😊
I had great fun meeting up with fellow scientists and scicommers during the festival 😀 It was also a nice platform for exchange of ideas and to learn about innovative projects, startups and initiatives across the country. Looking forward to stay connected with those I met and looking forward to more such festivals in future. 🙌🏻
Great to see you all there ☺️mathur

It is not easy to be a woman scientist, particularly in Theoretical Physics. I have had to deal with abuse, harassment, violence, bullying, racism, sexism, depression and micro-aggressions on a daily basis..as have many other women. But giving up is not an option for a scientist. I learned to speak more than 7 languages fluently, trained myself in combat sports and mountaineering, and most importantly learned to stand up for myself against all odds. I did not quit until I became a Professor, at IUCAA (the first in its 37 year history) in India. My life's motto is to break "glass ceilings" and the existing prejudice and clichés associated with the role of women in society, through science outreach and as an ambassador for diversity, equity and inclusion. 🙌🏻

I am deeply grateful to the international journal Nature for featuring me in their series "Changemakers in Science". I hope my story will inspire others, in particular young women in India and beyond, to claim their space in such male-dominated fields. 💪🏻

My heartiest gratitude to Kanika Sharma, Anuradha Mascarenhas, Elodie Chabrol for giving me the opportunity and voice to express myself. I am also deeply thankful to my family, close friends and colleagues, who have supported me throughout my journey ❤️🙏🏻

Just got to know that I have been featured in the Stanford ranking of top 2% scientists in the world. ✨️ Although it is true that it is difficult to measure contributions and achievements in Fundamental Science with any index, it is heartening to have some recognition for our research. It motivates us to work harder with more passion and dedication. 😊
Thankful to Times of India for sharing the news and for the feature, to Stanford University and Elsevier for their evaluation, and of course deeply grateful to my students, colleagues and collaborators worldwide for their support and contribution 🙏🏻