About Somini Sengupta
Somini Sengupta was born in Calcutta and raised in California. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley, majoring in English and Development Studies and one summer, studying politics at Worcester College, Oxford University. Plans to become an English professor were aborted by various distractions, including stints as a cocktail waitress, radio producer, community organizer, and finally, a newspaper reporter. At The New York Times, she has covered everything from New York City schools to civil war in Congo. She won the George Polk Award for international reporting in 2004. From 2005 to June 2009, she was the Bureau Chief in New Delhi, responsible for The Times’ coverage of India and the region. She is currently on book leave.