I never liked playing. In fact, I have never ever kicked a ball. Rather, I enjoyed drawing portraits of patients waiting outside my father’s chamber. My father was a doctor. When I was about five years old, there was a chair in one corner of the chamber where I used to sit and draw faces. Amiya Sen was one of those who encouraged me by gifting me drawing materials. The Japanese brush he gave me was my prized possession. One day, I drew a portrait of Lenin. He liked it so much that he took me to the city office of the then illustrated magazine, Soviet Desh . The magazine published it. This boosted my spirit.

The news that the president of the then Soviet Union will be visiting Calcutta prompted me to draw his portrait. One afternoon, after school, I went to meet the sahebs at the Soviet Desh office. When I reached the office, it was closed. I rang the bell, knocked on the door and then shouted to draw attention. One of the sahebs saw me and called me to his room and gave me a patient hearing. He understood Bengali, and to test my skills, he asked me to draw his face. He seemed satisfied with the drawing.

After a few days, I was taken to Raj Bhavan where I sat in the front row in a huge hall. I was well prepared and didn’t take much time to complete my portrait of the president. When the president saw it, he came forward and embraced me. Cameras flashed and next morning, I was delighted to find my photograph in the newspapers. Suddenly, I was famous in school.

My first solo exhibition of charcoal drawings on Vivekananda’s life was held at my father’s chamber in College Street.

I have fond memories of my school. Many of my friends used to come on horse drawn (fiton) cabs. One of them, Dilip Roy, was the son of the king of Posta. On many occasions, I visited their palace in search of colourful birds and other beautiful objects.

I remember my tutor who had also been my father’s teacher. He used to take me to interesting places such as the studios of famous sculptors. After completing school, I decided to join the Art College and for this, I had to leave home.

Childhood is too short but the child in you must live as long as you live.