I had a great childhood especially when I was very young. I used to be a real tomboy. My mother and all the members of her family were very good-looking. I come from a family where a lot of emphasis is laid on good looks. But I was never considered good-looking. I was just a skinny girl with silky hair. I was always very tall, right from the age of 12.

I have an older brother. The two of us would ride bikes, climb trees, play cricket and since I was a girl, I was determined to be better than the boys in everything I did. I had a huge family with around 30 cousins, so we used to constantly have one big party.

I was a bully at school and was very naughty. I was very good in English and very bad in Hindi. But I became very quiet when trouble began at home. When I was 13, my parents split up and there was an overnight change ? literally. The happy family scene became non-existent and insecurity creeped in. We were forced to take practicalities into account.

I quit school at the age of 14 and started working which is why I grew up so fast. I probably did 20 odd jobs, if not 30.

But I had no ambition. I started working as a telephone operator, then as a receptionist and if somebody asked me what I wanted to be in life, I’d simply keep mum. I just wanted to work and enjoy life. I’d work double shifts just to tide over the weekends.

I was always bull-headed and did everything ? right from selling attar to gas stoves. Then I moved to Mumbai with Rs 250 in my purse. I went to a hostel where I had to pay Rs 100 per night. I stayed there for two days before I got a paying guest accommodation.

The lady whose house I lived in was wonderful. She was a Pakistani and her husband was a Brit. They were the ones who helped strengthen my value system.

As told to Lata Khubchandani