Husain had written his autobiography in poetic Urdu ten years ago, and then in Hindi. Khalid Mohamed then transliterated the book.

"He gave me full freedom to write the book," says Khalid. "Each chapter has a little rhyme or poem. Sometimes I quoted from his book and sometimes I quoted from ancient Chinese poetry, Beatles and Freddie Mercury." Khalid claims to have put some of his own personality in Husain's book, too.

Khalid started working on the book in July 2002 and went through numerous sittings with the painter, he says: "I would write four or five chapters and then ask him to read. He did not even change a comma. He was quite amused and approving. I knew that if I got the first few chapters right, it would be a cakewalk.

"I did not like the way he ended the last chapter in his Hindi biography. I felt it was too repetitive. I asked him if I could write it myself. I ended the chapter with his 87th birthday bash in September. Recently, his painting was sold for Rs 20 million. So I added that as an epilogue."