As long as I live, I’ll always have gratitude towards him. I was one of his earliest [students] whom he taught in 1964. He came to my house every day for eight to nine years, teaching me for three to four hours without charging a single cent. My parents would keep wondering what we could give him. Since he loved rabri and paan, my mother would lay that out for him. That was my daily gurudakshina to him. He would teach painstakingly, focusing on how the eyes should move, where the elbow should go, and the grace that one should have. He would also do my makeup. If you see my old pictures, the makeup was done by him.

I would always spend time on stage, but at one point, he told me, ‘You won’t go on stage for [the next] two years’. Then, in 1968, he had his own performance at a huge festival in Delhi. That is where he launched me as his student to watch out for. What a launchpad I had! It was an [unforgettable] moment for me.