"My school time was very foundational for me – much more than college and university.

What we learned in school and the kind of teachers we had has been actually the most influential in my life.

We had some amazing teachers who taught English and social studies. I think that became the foundation which led me into particular directions much later. Also we had an amazing school principle that lived a very modest life.

He was not very rich and no one who would have neglected his own family but who would take care of his school.

I remember during exam week he would actually hire a cycle rickshaw and visit some of his students’ houses early in the morning – at around 5 o’clock. And one day I knew he would come to my house, knock on the door, talk to my parents and say: “Don’t you know that it is exam season? Why is he still sleeping? You know he should be studying.” It was amazing.

I think we get a lot of great values from individuals like that, people who sacrifice a lot of their own personal comfort to take care of students and I always respected that.

In India there is a great deal of respect for teachers which unfortunately in the contemporary world we hardly find anymore. It is no longer the same amount of respect that young people feel for their teachers. And I think we are losing some of the old values. I think that children, not just in school but even in college, tend to take for granted their teachers and what they get from them and do not value that anymore.

I think we now live in a very much competitive world and children are just thinking in terms of what they can get and not about what they can give back."