When Asha was 6, she would run through the forest of her grandparents farm, in the Western Ghats.
Asha would travel jobs all around the world, to run away from her mother. The UK, reactors in Romania, Canada, finally South Korea. After arriving in South Korea before the Freeze, she and the group of scientists must have traveled to North Korea, when the Freeze happened.
Asha was part of a group of 34 foreign nuclear technicians, (career scientists and some of their families) in a nuclear plant in North Korea, who initially survived the beginning of The Freeze, by living off residual heat from the nuclear reactor as it cooled. After some time had passed, the group were attacked by marauders, who killed almost half of the group members. After the marauders died off, they turned on each other. The high radiation levels in the plant caused radiation poisoning killing many of the group members, and the cold eventually made living conditions even harder. Asha, who was desperate to keep her 15-year old nephew safe, poisoned the others. However, he had become sick with thyroid cancer, leading to her nephew begging Asha to kill him because of the pain. After a mercy kill, Asha remained the only survivor for four years.[1]
While rescuing Bennett Knox who had fallen through the power plant roof, Andre Layton notices and investigates the light from the reactor. Layton finds Asha's belongings resulting in Asha attacking him, but he manages to subdue her and, after recharging his suit, carries the unconscious Asha back to the Pirate Train.[2] Asha woke up and found Layton and Josie. Layton gives her clean water and introduces her aboard Snowpiercer, offering Steward's Quarters for her to stay in. Asha told Layton of what happened in the nuclear reactor and how she made it out there so long.[3] Later when Wilford fires his Harpoon weapon into the Pirate Train, and Sykes rescued her from one of the derailing cars, Layton offers her the Engineer's quarters instead.[4]
In Setting Itself Right, Asha has begun working in Ag-Sec. She later sacrifices herself to save Snowpiercer from a cloud of toxic volcanic gas.
Asha had a nephew, who died from cancer during their stay in the bunker. Why her nephew was with her in the bunker remains unexplained.
Asha is also very close to Layton as he saves her life. She would also help Layton lie to the train about New Eden when he asked her to, although she never told him the whole story about her nephew.
Layton: "Asha? Great. Don't worry, you're safe here. No one's gonna hurt you, you're on Snowpiercer."
Asha: "Snowpiercer? Am I dreaming?"
Layton: "Not unless we all are."
Asha: "The train survived?"
Layton: "Let me show you, can you walk?"
― Asha wakes up on Snowpiercer.
Asha: "There were 34 of us to start, eking it out on the plant's residual power. Korean scientists, foreign nuclear technicians like me. Some of our families too. Marauders killed about half of us before they died out. And then the cold or radiation poisoning took the rest of us. My nephew, he was 15 years old. He was the last to go. He had thyroid cancer. By the end, he was begging me to kill him. That was about four years ago. After that, I lost time. I stopped hoping, stopped thinking, It's like someone other than me lived down there. Then I turned my eyes on you."
Layton: "I hate to tell you this, but humankind hasn't exactly evolved in your absence."
Asha: "You pushed past what was safe, even sane, to rescue me. Why?"
Asha: "You think you're safe here, don't you, Ruth. But you're not. Andre, he didn't know the whole story. You know, after-after the marauders died off, we turned on each other. I was desperate to keep my nephew safe, so I poisoned all the others. And then cancer took my nephew away and I was left all by myself. Once you choose survival at any cost, there's no going back."
Ruth: "Except there is. I've seen it. We all find our place here working together as one train."
― Asha confesses to Ruth.
Layton: "You were there, in the reactor at the beginning."
Asha: "When you had this vision of a New Eden?"
Layton: "Yeah, and that vision is what has been keeping me going on for the whole time. That's why we're here, just days away."
Asha: "It's keeping us all going. It's hope. So… What happened?"
Layton: "I went back there, Asha. Somewhere, in some dark corner of my mind, and we were there in the reactor together, and now my faith in all of this is gone. Have you seen this? [Shows Asha the Dragon Blood tree picture.]
Asha: "That's your vision?"
Layton: "You recognize it?"
Asha: "Yeah. There was one of these trees in a calendar on the wall. Reminded me how special the world is."
Layton: "I made it all up..."
― Layton finally realized where his vision came from.
Asha: "The memories from before The Freeze. Travel, jobs all around the world. The UK. Reactors in Romania. Canda. Finally, South Korea."
Ruth: "I'd never really traveled 'till I boarded the train."
Asha: "Yeah, well, I was running away from my mother. I took it for granted that family would always be there and in the reactor, it felt like karma. My life would end alone at the bottom of a dark hole."
Ruth: "But it didn't… did it? You're part of this magnificent train."
― Ruth comforts Asha.
Asha: "It's an atmospheric CCA and I'm reading increasing sulfur dioxide."
Bennett: "Our instruments aren't picking up any airborne anomalies."
Asha: "Your compound analyzers aren't as sensitive as mine."
Alex: "Well if we need finer analysis we can send a sample to the lab."
Asha: "There's no time to that."
― Asha is the first one to notice the toxic volcanic gas.
Wilford: "You must be our little survivor."
Asha: "And you must be the Great Engineer."
― Wilford meets Asha
Wilford: "You know, the shadows on my cave wall haven't said much about you. What were you doing in the Horn of Africa?"
Asha: "I couldn't get on your train."
― Wilford's surprised about Asha.
Layton: "Asha come on, get up."
Asha: "Go… Go… Go help those people find their home. Like you did with the Tail. Like you did with me."
Layton: "No. No. No. ASHA! Hey. Hey. Look at me."
Asha: "Tell me about New Eden."
Layton: "Asha, I can't. I made it up. Come on."
Asha: "No, describe it to me."
Layton: "Come on, breathe. Please, Asha come on. NO! COME ON!"
Asha: "Tell me what it looks like, please."
Layton: "Uh… Rolling hills down to the shoreline. There were shrubs, low… like sage, you know, green and prickly. Uh.. Trees, trees, just spotting the beach. I could smell it. Yeah, I could smell it. Vanilla and pepper. You can hear the breeze and there were bugs humming. And the Sun. Ooh, Asha, The Sun… Close your eyes.. and turn towards the sun. And it heats your whole body. All the way, deep down inside. Asha, you did it."
She has spoken the opening dialogue in Setting Itself Right and died right in that episode.
After Layton tells Asha she's on Snowpiercer, she isn't confused what that is and is surprised that it survived, which means the Wilford Industries Global Express was also known as Snowpiercer before it was secretly turned into an ark.
Asha would travel jobs all around the world, to run away from her mother. The UK, reactors in Romania, Canada, finally South Korea. (This level of details in the scenario is quite remarkable, as India, Romania, Canada and South Korea belong to the handful of countries that use the same type of nuclear reactors, with heavy water as a moderator. Asha's description of her professional career may seem completely random but it isn't.)
Asha also maintained the air quality at the nuclear plant, with a sensitive Atmospheric CCA.
After arriving in South Korea before the Freeze, she and the group of scientists must have traveled to North Korea, when the Freeze happened.
The design for Asha's suit may have been inspired by the Explorers outfit from the comics, as their helmets have similar designs.
