I was born at the Air Force station in Delhi, as my father was in the Air Force. My earliest memories are of the days when I was a toddler and my Dad would walk with me in the garden at night and point out the different constellations to me. Later memories are of squabbling incessantly with my two older sisters, though we are the best of friends now.

When I was three-and-a-half, we moved to Bangalore, and did my schooling there. I studied in St Francis Xavier Girls’ High School till class X and in Frank Anthony’s till class XII. I was very tomboyish, always dressed in jeans and boots, and excelled in athletics and basketball. Because of my short hair ? and since it was a girls’ school ? I would always get to play the male leads in the school plays. And I actually went on to become Miss India! Can you believe it?

I was a good student and the class monitor throughout, ending up as the school captain in the final year. But I got into a lot of mischief, too. However, I managed to wriggle out of it all as I was an expert in the art of lying.

When we were in south India, we used to spend our vacations in places such as Belur and Halebid. And since we had relatives up north, we often went to Delhi and Mussourie.

The one thing I treasure and miss about my childhood days is the sense of invincibility I felt. As a child, you fear a lot less and literally know no limitations. I remember, I used to walk along the edge of the terrace of our two-storied house fearlessly! I think that fearless, independent spirit within us is very important and that’s why we should never lose the child within us.