There was a talent round too, and I had no clue what talent I was going to present. With only a few days to prepare, I opened old suitcases where my Bharatnatyam costume and ornaments were kept. Dance came to me easily when I was younger but it had been a while since I performed.

I grew up in Chandigarh where I had enrolled for a dance class. I was 10 then, I studied for three years and took part in concerts till I graduated from school. My family then moved to Delhi. This photograph was taken in Malaysia in 2008. I was 19, and had taken part in an international talent show organised by the tourism ministry. This was my first international work tour where I spent 20 days abroad interacting with other contestants and coaches.

Since I was a dancer, my mother approached her friend, Rhea Pillai who she had met through an Art of Living workshop. My mother shared my inclination for performing arts and asked what I should do to further a career in it. She suggested we move to Mumbai but it was too far. Instead, we ended up in Delhi. There, I enrolled in a Bachelors in Computers via open university.

In my first year however, I was spotted by a modelling agency and started to take part in contests. Through one of these contests, I found myself in Malaysia searching for a talent. I picked a song that I remembered performing on as a child but my nerves were tense.

Even as I took the stage, I kept thinking to myself that I should have chosen a Western dance form. To my surprise, when I finished, the audience threw roses onstage. They loved it. Eventually, I ended up winning the contest. This was the most endearing response I had received. I was touched.

Later, when I took part in the Miss India and Miss World pageants, I was sure Bharatnatyam would be my talent. I decided that I would present the dance with an amalgamation of contemporary moves. In hindsight though, I should have stuck to a more authentic version of the dance.