I would only have to take three or four days off from school. We would come to Mumbai, rehearse for a day or two, perform, and then return to Delhi. My mother would get my school books and I would study whenever I got time.

Since we were all children in his group, Anandji saw to it that shows happened during weekends. Every child would be accompanied by one parent. My father would accompany me.

I had a great time, as we studied together, played together, went to Disneyland together... Sometimes, Anandji would tell us about his experiences with Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. He taught us the small details of singing, even things like how to hold a mike.

Once, I remember, I lost a tooth, and so I could not pronounce 'sa' correctly. I would sing 'Dil hai chotafa chotifi aafaa!' When my tooth grew back, I continued making the same mistake. Anandji wanted to solved this problem, so he made me practise saying, 'ssshhh.'

He taught us how to sing the same song in different ways -- like singing a dance track like Jab chahey mera jadoo like a bhajan, qawwali or ghazal.

In 1997, I participated in Zee Sa Re Ga Ma and won it.

In the video: Akriti sings Inshallah from the film, Welcome

Also Watch A R Rahman sings for rediff!

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