Lined up on the windowsills around the staffroom are rocks in various shapes and sizes. We ask Mugdha Karnik which is the most unusual of them all."All rocks are unusual,"she says, gazing dotingly at them. Right behind where she sits is a quartzite, with its crystals beautifully arranged in a dewy cluster. There are a green-hued amazonite and a swirling chalcedony keeping it company, and on her table is a rock that shimmers with a deep pink.

A garnet in the rough, she tells us. In the right light, the glint of these rocks could convert the staffroom into a retro discotheque."I have many more at home,"says the director of the Centre for Extra Mural Studies (CEMS) at the University of Mumbai, Kalina."People know how I love to collect rocks, and they present me with specimens they find. This one here was given to me by my driver,"she says, pointing to a rock with the subdued glow of amber crystals,"I prefer rough stones over polished diamonds."
"Researching the geology of Mumbai and the Konkan is so important,"says Karnik, the first director of the CEMS, which was set up in 1976.