I was born and brought up in Calcutta, which I left only after I won the Gladrags Mega Model Contest in 2002. I am named after a river that flows through Jharkhand not too far away from my hometown.

As a child I befriended everyone, from the kids in my neighbourhood to my maid’s daughter. And the circle of friends kept expanding as I grew up. I went to South Point High School and hated every moment of school. What kept me going were the tiffin breaks, friends and school fests. I never liked to study.

I was a tomboy and played a lot of cricket with the guys. My mother still recalls how I would come home in soiled clothes every evening. My parents never set any time limit for me and I was allowed to play till fairly late.

Even as a child, I loved entertaining my family. In fact, I was the main dancer in every family event. I was part of the Mamata Shankar Ballet Troupe for 12 years and loved my dance lessons. And all the playing with the boys did nothing to stop me from experimenting with my mother’s dupattas and her make-up whenever I got the chance. I loved to dress up.

The best thing about my childhood was Durga Puja when one had the freedom to do almost anything one wanted to. Pandal-hopping was great fun and I still remember having a blast at the Deshapriya Park pandal and coming home at night with candy floss in my hair.

Growing up in a large family was fun. I was spoilt rotten by my grandfather who would say that I was no less than a monkey. I was quite wicked too. My grandfather helped me with my studies at home. One day, when I was six years old, I was given a test in which I scored a miserable zero. This meant that I would not get my usual quota of hojmis. To my eternal shame I put a ‘one’ in front of the zero before showing the exercise book to my mother. Of course she saw through my ruse and was most upset.

Even though I was average in my studies, I achieved what I wanted. This has led me to believe that nothing in life is impossible. Just have fun and work hard.