The reason Arati is famous is because back in 1959, she became the first Asian woman to swim across the English Channel. She was just 19 at the time. Of course while that is the highlight of her career, there is more to her than just crossing the water body. Her story is one of courage, perseverance and of course endurance.
She was born into a middle class family in 1940 in Kolkata. Her father was in the armed forces and she lost her mother when she was a toddler. At the age of 4 she used to go with her uncle to Champatala Ghat to bathe and that was where she learned to swim. Her father recognised her interest in swimming and started getting her trained.
Arati’s specialties were 100m freestyle, 100m breast stroke and 200m breast stroke. She dominated the nationals in 1948 and at the 1951 West Bengal state meet, she clocked 1 minute 37.6 seconds in 100m breast stroke to set an all-India record which was previously held by Dolly Nazir.
She was the toast of the nation and later that year she married her manager Dr. Arun Gupta. A Padma Shri was awarded to her in 1960 and she had also joined Bengal Nagpur Railway.
Picture Credit : Google