For my undergraduate studies, I enrolled under the University of Calcutta and completed my Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Geology Honours (Major in Geology) with Physics and Mathematics. From the beginning of my undergraduate studies I was fascinated with Geological field work and had a particular knack in mapping and studying deformation in rocks. This skill forms a basis for me today to study and incorporate taphonomy and deformation mechanisms in Paleontology.
Thereafter, I completed my Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Applied Geology from the University of Calcutta, which is one of the oldest and pioneering centers of Earth Sciences in India. My Masters thesis was based on Structural Geology and deformation in shear zones and was titled ” Deformation of a Granitoid Body within North Puruliya Shear Zone, near Bero, Puruliya District, West-Bengal“. For my Masters thesis I was under the supervision of Prof. Tapas Bhattacharyya, a pioneer in the field of Structural Geology and Tectonics. During my M.Sc. thesis I also specialized in extensive Geological mapping and field Geology and was particularly fascinated with the study of the mechanism of deformation. This I later incorporated in my Ph.D. work on retrodeformation and deformation mechanism of vertebrate fossils. It was during my Masters curriculum that I took a course in Vertebrate Paleontology and worked additionally on the topic “Non endemism of Indian vertebrates since Mesozoic“. I delivered a special lecture on this topic in my Masters colloquium under the guidance of Prof. Dhurjati Prasad Sengupta. It was then that I was attracted towards the huge domain of Paleontology and wanted to incorporate my specializations in deformation , geology and stratigraphy into Paleontology.
My biggest strength lies in my expertise in field excavations of vertebrate fossils and field knowledge in Gondwana Geology. During my Ph.D. I have thoroughly revised maps of the Early, Middle and Late Triassic Gondwana Formations of all the four major Gondwana Basins in India. This was a very demanding and an equally rewarding work.
My aptitude for quantitative analysis, Mathematics and Statistics informed my journey in PhD and resulted in my learning and mastering Geometric Morphometrics and Bayesian Phylogeny. My Ph.D. title, “Paleontology and Stratigraphy of the Triassic Temnospondyl Amphibians of India” covers the comparative anatomy and morphology and the first ever phylogenetic sorting of all Indian Triassic temnospondyls. Apart from traditional paleontological techniques I have worked extensively on histology, micro CT scanning, retrodeformation, bone taphonomy, biostratigraphy, paleobiogeography and paleoclimatic reconstructions. Parallel to working on temnospondyls I have also worked extensively on the study of coprolites and applied variety of engineering techniques on different Gondwana vertebrates from India.
In addition to my Ph.D. work in Gondwana, I have recently started field work, exploration and excavation in the Eocene, Miocene and Jurassic marine formations of the Kutch region in Western India. The Kutch Basin, apart from hosting vertebrate fossils has an array of invertebrate fossils and foraminifera. I intend to enrich my expertise by working on these .
I am a staunch believer in integrated and interdisciplinary science, many of my works are collaborative which allows me to network with different national and international laboratories and with people of varied fields ranging from engineers, doctors, mathematicians and other paleobiologists.
