Childhood, so far as I can recall, was a joyride. I had a lot of fun while growing up. I was born in Karimganj, Assam, and went to Government High School. I travelled a lot, as my father had a transferable job. We were three siblings, and I was the naughtiest.

In school, I was known for my mischievous, restless behaviour. I was often caught looking out of the window in class. I was also very impulsive and picked fights with my schoolmates at the drop of a hat. However, I got away with it because my teachers were all very fond of me, as I was a fairly good student and played the tabla well.

I was always more actively involved with co-curricular activities than studies. From cricket to music, I took part in everything. I was known as ‘‘Zakir Hussain’’ in school because I played the tabla.

Reading used to be one my favourite hobbies. I loved reading English classics and Bengali literature. This was a habit that my mother inculcated in me. She was also my first music teacher.

During my board exams I remember building a tree house on a huge tree in our courtyard. Every morning, I used to climb up to the tree house and stayed there for two to three hours, in an attempt to convince my parents that I was working hard for my exams. However, I did anything but study.

I was also extremely fond of animals and kept loads of them as pets. I even had two tiger cubs, for whom I made a home in our garden. I also had dogs, parrots, pigeons and peacocks. During lunch break every day, I cycled two miles from school to feed my pets and went back after I was done.

I was very lucky to have had a beautiful childhood.