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How Drawing Manta Rays Rekindled a Doctor’s Bond with the Sea.
There are moments in life that silence everything. Silent, but soul stirring. For Dr. Sumanshi Singh, that
moment happened when her dived for the first time and came face to face with a manta ray.
“It was like I was reunited with a part of myself that I had lost.”
Sumanshi, a general surgeon from Delhi, India, had just completed her training in March. Amidst the
routine and pressures of the medical world, who would have thought that the sea is where she found
solitude, wonder and even a new purpose in life?
Having grown up on a ship due to her father’s career in the merchant navy, the ocean once felt like home.
But as she entered the demanding world of medicine, her connection to the sea faded.
It wasn’t until a friend invited her to dive again that the spark was reignited. “The first time I went
underwater, I remembered everything I had forgotten. It was like meeting a childhood friend I hadn’t seen
in years,” she recalls.
Since then, diving has become more than a hobby it’s become a reconnection. And that connection found
its purest expression at Manta Point with Ceningan Divers, where she encountered manta rays for the
first time.
Drawing Manta Rays: An Unexpected Shift in Perspective
Sumanshi is no stranger to sketching she has plenty of experience drawing intricate human anatomy.
That’s why her first dive with Ceningan Divers felt familiar in an unexpected way like sketching something
entirely new, this time beneath the ocean’s surface.
“All I could think about was drawing them,” she says. “I’ve never drawn plants or landscapes beforeonly
human bodies. But after seeing the manta rays move with such grace, I had to capture them on paper. It
was my way of holding on to that moment.”
Drawing became her way of learning more deeply about these majestic animals their form, their function,
their fragility. “The more I drew, the more I noticed the details. And with every line, I realized how
incredible and vulnerable they are.”
She also learned that Manta Point is a cleaning station a place where manta rays return regularly to have
parasites removed by cleaner fish. “Understanding that made me even more respectful. We’re visitors in
their world. And we have a responsibility not to disrupt it.”
Conservation Through Experience
What makes diving with Ceningan Divers stand out for Sumanshi isn’t just the marine life but the
education that comes with it. “One of the first things I learned here is that diving safely isn’t just about
your own safety it’s also about protecting the environment,” she says.
At Ceningan Divers, every guest is introduced to sustainable diving practices: from choosing reef-safe
sunscreen to perfecting buoyancy control to avoid damaging fragile coral reefs. Through workshops, daily
conversations, and firsthand experiences underwater, guests develop a deeper appreciation for marine
biodiversity.
“I didn’t know how complex coral reefs were before this. Or that something as small as sunscreen could
harm them. Now I know better and that makes me want to do better.”
Ceningan Divers doesn’t just offer diving it offers awareness. It empowers guests to become part of a
community of ocean stewards, even after their trip ends.
Woman’s View on the Ocean and Empowerment
When asked about her perspective as a woman in diving and science, Sumanshi reflects on the emotional
impact of her journey. “I think women bring a unique sensitivity to this work. We’re often taught to
nurture and protect and those instincts come naturally when you see how delicate the underwater world
really is.”
Diving has also given her a new kind of confidence. I’ve worked largely independently in my career, often
handling responsibilities on my own. Diving taught me the importance of teamwork, where safety
depends on mutual trust and coordination. It helped me embrace shared responsibility and become a
more collaborative team player. “As someone who had never been diving before, discovering this entire
world below the surface was empowering. You realize just how much there is to learn and how much you
can do to help.”
A Message for Us
“Seeing manta rays in their natural behavior, just doing what they’ve done for centuries, was humbling,”
she says. “It’s a privilege to witness that. And it’s a reminder that if we want these moments to continue
for ourselves and future generations we must respect their space.”
Through her drawings, Sumanshi hopes to keep the ocean with her even when she returns to the hospital.
“If I can draw them, I can remember them. And if I remember them, I won’t forget why they matter.”
Sumanshi’s journey is a beautiful reminder that reconnection doesn’t always happen in grand gestures
it can begin with a single breath underwater, or a pencil stroke on paper. From the operating room to
Manta Point, she’s found a new kind of healing not for the body, but for the soul. And perhaps, in
protecting the ocean, she’s found a way to protect a part of herself, too.
“Medicine taught me about the human body. But the oceans taught me about life.”
Dr. Sumanshi Singh, MBBS, DNB (General Surgery), MRCS, earned her medical degree (MBBS) from Bharati
Vidyapeeth Medical College and Research Institute in Pune. She completed her DNB in General Surgery at
Kokilaben Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai, and holds the MRCS qualification (Member
of the Royal College of Surgeons). She has illustrated for many medical research articles and papers. For
over a decade, Sumanshi has been dedicated to the medical profession, cultivating her clinical and surgical
expertise at leading hospitals and medical institutions across India.
However, beyond her scientific rigor, Sumanshi is also known as a visual thinker using images as a learning
and communication tool, especially in understanding the structure of the human body. Her expertise in
medical illustration has grown over the course of her medical career, allowing her to translate complex
concepts into educational and engaging visuals.
After completing her training as a general surgeon, in the interim of awaiting her MRCS results she decided
to explore another side of herself one that had longed for the ocean. Inspired by her childhood spent on
a ship with her merchant navy father, she began diving and learning more about marine life.
A diving experience with Ceningan Divers in Nusa Ceningan was a major turning point in her life. It was
there that she first saw a manta ray up close an encounter that sparked her passion for drawing marine
creatures and understanding more deeply the world that had long been hidden beneath the surface. With
her signature approach as a physician and illustrator, Sumanshi now depicts marine life with scientific
precision and a strong emotional touch.
Through her illustrations, writing, and involvement in marine conservation, she tells a powerful story and
message: that protecting the ocean is not just about data and regulations, but also about personal
connection and respect for life.
Specialties: General surgery, anatomical illustration, medical education, marine conservation
Based in Delhi, India
linkedIn: Sumanshi Singh
