In the year 1992, when I went to Kasauli for the first time with my family for a vacation, I was crazily excited. As luck would have it, my favourite star Shah Rukh Khan was shooting for Maya Memsaab in that quaint Himachal hill station. Our camera reel was over, so I took a pen and a paper from a nearby provision store and took his autograph. He graciously signed and I preserved that piece of paper for many years till it was lost while shifting. And I felt really bad. I still regret losing it.

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It's 2017. Photograph is the new autograph. It's the cleanest proof of meeting with your favourite celeb. It's right there. Visual. Autographs could be faked, they say. But what's the point? Who do you want to show off. Is that pic with the celeb just for receiving likes on social media? Isn't it about his/her handwritten personalised lovely little scribble on the paper? Is it just about that fake pout and one raised eyebrow? I think for a little evolved human, a genuine smile and a heartfelt handshake is better than a forced selfie.

Last month when I was in Rishikesh, I met the revered writer Ruskin bond. The entire crew had taken out their smartphones and suddenly there were nonstop selfies. I, on the other hand, had a conversation with him over lunch. Got to know his connection with Punjab and Mussourie. And when he bid us adieu, I was reminded that I didn't take any selfie or an autograph. But those 20 minutes of pure conversation with him would be cherished forever. I've been his ardent fan. Let's follow this with an anti-quote:

"I would never want a book's autograph. I'm a proud non-reader of books." - Kanye West

I feel it's overwhelming when people take my autograph. I always wanted to give one. I'd practised it for years before mastering a perfect one. Earlier I used to do it in Hindi. Later, I switched to English. Don't know why. I again want to go back to Hindi. I think it's quite cool. I have also given one in Urdu when I'd gone to Lahore in 2005. My grandad taught me how to write my name in Urdu. And Pakistanis were shocked to see that. I'm talking about the time when I was a Roadie.

The most special was my first autograph. I was just 18. I'd just come out of a singing reality show in 2002 and I was shopping with my dad in Sector 17, Chandigarh, when a 14-year-old girl asked for my autograph. I just froze and became all awkward. I could see my dad's proud face. He was smiling ear to ear. And I was more nervous than that little girl who'd asked for my autograph. It's ironic that stars in India these days avoid giving autographs. A certain Maria Sharapova always carries her personal favourite pen as she has experienced that most of the people asking for autographs don't have a pen. And she generally obliges everyone. That's an amazing quality; I think it's quite nice when there are people coming up to you and asking for an autograph instead of a selfie in this day and age. They deserve special treatment. But you know it's a bit bizarre when you're surrounded by strangers who want something from you. They don't know what they want. You don't know what they want, unless it's an autograph or a selfie. And you sort of stand there grinning at one another. That moment is priceless. Recently, I encountered a third gender person at a traffic signal. The car window was knocked at and she yelled, 'Ae hero, sau rupaye de na. Tujhe dekha hai par tera naam kya hai?' I said, 'Ranbir Kapoor'. She said, 'Arey chup! Mazaak kar raha hai'. I was like, 'Tuney mujhe kahaan dekha hoga? Meri films sirf multiplex mein chalti hain.' And she was like, 'Main tujhe dua deti hai ki tu Ranbir se bhi zyaada hit ho jaaye.' I said, 'i.' I gave a Rs 100 note. She asked for an autograph on that note. And I said no! Probably for the first time, as you should not sign on the currency note. You may just ruin our foreign exchange. I don't agree with scribbling on our currency notes, but I strongly agree with the following goodbye quote:

"To be honest, I still feel like I haven't scratched the surface of where I want to be. If someone asked me for an autograph, I'd be like, 'Me? I haven't done anything yet!' I have much more to offer the world." -- Cory Hardrict