In 1961, she performed in a dance drama, by CLT, at the Tagore’s birth centenary.
She began her formal training in dance in 1962, under the loving guidance of Smt. Manjulika Das, in Folk dances, Bharatnatyam and Creative dance, until 1966. From 1965 – 1969 she specialized in Bharatnatyam under the guidance of Sri Maruthappa Pillai. Further, she went in for formal training in Classical Russian Ballet, initially form Modern High School and later form Calcutta School of Music, during. 1960 – 1967
During the same period she trained in pianoforte at home under the guidance of Mr. Joseph Braganza, which she enjoyed very much, and obtained her Diploma from Trinity College, London, in 1967. In 1968 she received her Diploma in Rabindra Sangeet from Dakshinee.
Completing her school, she got her Honours in Political Science from Shree Shikshayatan College, Kolkata.
In 1969, Miss Chakladar was invited to participate in the Miss Calcutta contest, which in those days, was rather a new concept. As she always enjoyed doing with new things, she participated and won the title. Subsequently her next stop was the Miss India contest, in Bombay. Never being concerned with competitions and victories, she barely attended the events of the contest, except for the Judges’ Dinner, presided by the veteran actors Dev Anand and Tanuja, of Hindi Films. Despite her laid-back attitude with the contest,, she won the First Runner-Up title.
Since becoming Miss Calcutta, she started to receive offers to work in Films. Her independent minded and free spirit made her decline the offers repeatedly. Never the less the offers incessantly increased with the Miss India First Runner-up title, but she resisted the allure for her first love – Dance and the Stage.
