My dad was a surgeon in Rohtak Medical College and that?s where I was born. I grew up there till I was eight. My father had to go abroad frequently. He travelled to Kenya, Nigeria, Iraq and Libya and my mum joined him. I was still a kid, so I stayed back with my maternal grandmother. Mum used to teach in my own school till then.

Hen I was in nursery I remember sitting in class and staring at the pasture outside. There was a little pond, which had buffaloes lazing in the water and I distinctly remember wanting to run out and play in the water with them. Gazing outside, I would feel like crying.

had this habit of running to find my mother wherever she was teaching and she?d get very angry and tell me to go to my own class. There was a peon called Nagraj and she?d threaten me by saying that if I didn?t return to my class, she?d tell Nagraj to take care of me. I used to think Nagraj was a ten-headed serpent or something till I discovered that he was but a man.

Y nani used to be very strict with me and she?d punish me in all kinds of horrendous ways. She made me join tuitions. I hated them and used to run away to my paternal grandparents? house all alone by catching a bus. They lived in a village called Jesia 15 kms away.

Inally, my uncle had to bring me back to nani?s house and it used to annoy him. I had this habit of bringing home stray puppies and hiding them from my nani till she found out. I had this dog called Tiger who was born on August 20, 1976 ? the same day as my birthday. He used to bite me all the time. I dare say he was pretty much like my nani !

Nani used to give me a bath and I used to run and hide under the razaai so that she wouldn?t be able to send me to school. Once I tried to shave and cut my lip and tried to hide it from nani. I was really petrified of her.