I was a man

The youngest of five siblings including three sisters and a brother, Debabratra Bhattachargee liked wearing girls' clothes since childhood. His gestures were feminine, because of which his parents hid her away when visitors came home.

An average student, he was constantly teased in school. Classmates called him 'bhabhi'. He turned to elder sister Kajol for consolation. She once made him undress in front of a mirror to explain why he was a male and not female.

Debabratra's parents enrolled him for swimming, hoping to divert his mind.

At the age of 11, in 1985, he joined National Swimming Association, Kolkatta. Debabratra learnt swimming within a month, and started practicing daily for over 10 hours.

In June 1986, he took part in 2nd National Sub Junior Aquatic Championship in Lucknow. He broke the record by covering 50-meter breaststroke in a mere 39.63 seconds and won a gold medal.

In 1986, Debabratra won a gold medal in 3rd Sub Junior National Aquatic Championship, in Mumbai. He covered 100 meters breaststroke, in a record time of 1 minute 22 second.

In the same year, he took part in Asianage Aquatic Championship and broke China's record of 38 seconds in 50 meters breast stroke, by finishing the distance in a mere 37 second. He was only thinking of swimming now, and his parents were happy.

In 1987, when he was 13, Debabratra met Romil Banerjee (10) of Mumbai in a National Swimming Aquatic Competition in Lucknow. They became friends and he discussed his problem with Romil, who told him about the sex change possibility.

After his return to Kolkatta, Debabratra started reading up on sex change. He quit swimming.

The following year, he told his elder sister Kajol his desire. She took him to a psychiatrist who advised the sex change too. But his family members were against it.

In 1989, Debabratra met Raj, younger than him. Raj wanted to learn swimming from Debabratra and they soon developed liking for each other. In 1995, Raj and Debabratra got married against their parents' wish and came to Mumbai. Debabratra became bar dancer Reetu and earned thousands per night.

In 1996, Debabratra spent over Rs 4.5 lakh on sex change operations in Kolkata and Mumbai. In December 2007 he had a breast formation surgery using silicon and laser treatment for permanent removal of facial hairs.

Debabratra finally became Reetu. But life came to a standstill when dance bars were shut down. Reetu's only support was Raj, who became a real estate agent.

In the last year and a half, Reetu has transformed herself to a singer. She sings at Anna Palace Beer bar, Mira Road and earns few hundreds daily. The bar owner Dilip Shetty has also provided her stay in Mira Road.

A die-hard fan of actor Salman Khan, Reetu wants to meet him some day. She wants to be an item girl in Bollywood and wants to help others like her find their way. Raj supports her decision.