What Makes Reshmi ghosh Special?

Meet her, and get carried away by her doe-like eyes and dusky complexion. Talk with her, and find yourself conversing with an effusive charm. Yes, there is a silky smooth feel about Reshmi which has flavoured for her a ''a journey towards self-realisation culminating in the Fa Femina Miss India-Earth 2002 crown.''

Gifted with a golden voice, Reshmi enthralled the audience at the Femina Miss Talent sub-contest with Bade Achche Lagte Hain. This ''pucca movie-buff'' is a ''great fan of Satyajit Ray'' and has ''featured in a few serials, back home in Kolkata.''

Reshmi's home of joy in the City of Joy spans Ma, a home-maker; Baba; who works for a private firm; kid sister Payal; and pet dog Jimmy. When Reshmi's mother married her father Subroto, she changed her name to Subhra. Born to romantic parents, this Cancerian defines herself as ''emotional" with dreams unlimited surrounding the love of her life — fellow Kolkata model Arindam. ''I have found in him a dream man who understands me.''

Incidentally, Reshmi's earliest memories include being a shy child who was teased about being dark. ''It was my best friend, Diti, who drew me out of my shell and cajoled me into modelling.'' Now, of course, Reshmi has walked the ramp for choreographers Marc Robinson, Rashmi Virmani and Ashish Banerjee; and designers Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Anamika Khanna and Kiran Uttam Ghosh. Add TV ads for Junior Horlicks and Coca-Cola (Sri Lanka), and appearances in Bengali music videos, and Reshmi is in line to be face to face with fame.

Born and brought up in Kolkata, Reshmi studied at Carmel High School before pursuing a degree in communicative English at Jogamaya Devi College. Communication, it is said, holds the key.

''While I was training with the other girls for the contest, I received a letter from my mother — for the first time in my life. She wrote about how she was proud of me — a sentiment echoed by my father after I won the crown.'' A sentiment echoed by India, which is proud of this down-to-earth girl.