Bye Bye Mati:  A Memoir in a Monsoon Landscape is a nonfiction project supported by The Ford Foundation's South Asia bureau for forests and environment. It is a social ethnography of sorts – a book that explores the life history of an aboriginal woman in Karjat, Maharashtra, in Western India. The story is bound up with the story of Sohaila's family, which settled in the village of Tembre 17 years ago. The book explores issues of land, water, culture, communal and caste conflict, family, politics, labor and corruption, among other things. It is a scholarly, yet personal book, in which babies are born, trees are cut, rice is harvested and much tea is drunk.

In the early 90's Sohaila worked for Oxfam India as their Anniversary Coordinator. Her job was to promote Oxfam during its 50th year, and also to promote sustainable development and raise awareness of development-related issues both in India and abroad. To this end, she directed all aspects of communication, public relations, fund raising, and materials production for the Oxfam program, which included 500 development projects, dealing with issues from water harvesting to bonded labor. The communication and fund raising strategy exceeded all targets.

She wrote press releases and produced other publicity materials, such as brochures, T-shirts and posters.  She liaised with the media, leaders of development projects and government officials. She was on the air and in print in India and the UK. She produced a film on Oxfam's work, which aired in the UK, India and the New York Women's Film Festival. She organized an extravaganza in Bombay, where 750 artisans and craftspeople from all over India performed and sold their wares. Her favorite part of the job was the traveling, and writing. She roamed all over India and stayed in tiny villages, visiting rural development projects and writing about everything from weavers' collectives to midwifery education. Her articles were published in India and in Oxfam's in-house publications abroad.