Her career in swimming began at an early age of 5. When Bengal was on the brink of collapsing due to communal violence and forced conversions, of which women bore the brunt, she on the other hand won her first gold in 110 yards freestyle at the Shailendra Memorial Swimming Competition in 1946. Between 1946 and 1951, Arati participated in several state-level swimming competitions during which she won around 22 medals in events like 100m freestyle, 100m breaststroke and 200m breaststroke for her home state Kolkata. In 1948, she won two silvers in 100m freestyle and 200m breaststroke, a bronze in 200m freestyle at the national championship held in Mumbai, her first victory after India gained Independence. She also made an all India record in 1949. In 1951, around the time, when India needed to focus on stooping levels of female literacy, Arati went on to break her contemporary Dolly Nazir’s all-India record bycreating one in 100m breaststroke. The same year, she also set a new state-level record in 100m freestyle, 200m freestyle and 100m backstroke.
In the year 1952, Saha’s International journey began with the onset of Summer Olympic Games at Helsinki, Finland. She along with her contemporary Dolly Nazir represented India in the 200m breaststroke event. Arati was one of the four women participants and the youngest member of the Indian contingent. Although, she didn’t win any medals, she representing India at an International level was an achievement in itself, especially when women’s presence was highly invisible in sports. After returning from Olympics, she again tried her luck in 100m freestyle but lost to her sister Bharati Saha. After the defeat, she chose to concentrate only on breaststroke.
IN 1948, SHE WON TWO SILVERS IN 100M FREESTYLE AND 200M BREASTSTROKE, A BRONZE IN 200M FREESTYLE AT THENATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP HELD IN MUMBAI, HER FIRST VICTORY AFTER INDIA GAINED INDEPENDENCE.