Sukumaran was born to a Japanese mother and an Indian father in Sapporo, Japan in 1974. Sukumaran grew up in Shimla, India.  Sukumaran is a trained architect with a degree from School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, India. He holds an MFA from Department of Design|Media Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles.

  Some of Ashok’s work involved “embedded  technologies” in the “human habitat”. It deals with the interaction of humans and their ability to change/influence their surroundings via simple embedded tools/technologies. The creativity and reactions to this type of work is what intrigues me.