Sowmya holds a BA and MA in French from the Mumbai University. During her MA she spent one semester at la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, as an exchange student. Sowmya has had a long and varied international career. After her undergraduate studies, she worked as a Flight Attendant with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, before going on to to study law. She practiced as a litigator in the Bombay High Court for many years and moved to Columbus in 2020.

Her research interests include 19th and 20th century French and Francophone literature, and gender and sexuality studies, with particular emphasis on women's voices and questions of identity.