Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi grew up in Bihar’s Belsand village in Gopalganj district. His father was a farmer and a priest, and his upbringing was rooted in simplicity. In a recent interview with India TV, the actor recounted anecdotes from his younger days in the village and how he would perform stunts on bicycle to impress girls. He also recalled the time he ate insects in an attempt to learn swimming and changed both his and his father’s surname to Tripathi from Tivari.
Speaking about performing bicycle stunts, the actor said, “I used to perform stunts on the bicycle because there was a boy who would perform such stunts and he was very popular among girls. I am talking about the time I was in 7th or 8th standard in school. In school at the time, a slow cycle race was organised, so that boy, who was the winner of that race, became very popular among girls. So, I learned the same thing hoping that I would be the winner next year, but I lost, I wasn’t the winner.”
Pankaj also recalled a more adventurous side of his village life when he decided to learn swimming. He shared, “I wanted to learn swimming. We had a river behind our house. The river water has small black insects swimming on top of it. So, the kids in the village, they are very naughty, they told me that if I drink these insects I will learn swimming. So, I picked up 10-12 of those insects and drank them with the water. I am thankful that my stomach didn’t get upset.”
Talking about the time he decided to change not only his own surname but also his father’s, Pankaj said, “It must me the first time in history that a father got a name from his son. I was filling the admit card of 10th standard. My uncle would use the surname Tripathi and he had become an officer in the government. There was also one Baba who had Tripathi surname, he became a professor of Hindi. Those who had my surname, Tiwari, they all were either priests or were doing farming. So, I thought this is because of the surname. I didn’t want to become farmer or a priest. So I wrote my name as Tripathi in the form. But then I thought I can’t write my father’s name as Tiwari in the form as it might get rejected. So I changed his name too.”
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