I was born in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in a village called Rajdhani. I lived there with my granddad and acquired agricultural skills from him.

My granddad used to put me into school. They used to teach us in Urdu, which was a foreign language.

For example, they used to have a picture on the board of a bull. In Pahari we call that animal 'Daand'. And they used to say 'What's this?' and I used to say 'Daand' and I got beat up. ('Daand' means 'bell' in Urdu).

When he first came to England Dalaat didn't speak a word of English

I hated school

I knew everything about farming and yet I used to fail the agricultural exam because it was in a foreign language - Urdu.

I hated school and used to run off. I loved fishing. I loved canoeing. I loved horse riding.

In my late teens I was forced to come to England because (my granddad died and) I had nobody left there (in Kashmir).

I used to dream about Kashmir

I joined my family in Dewsbury. We used to live in a terraced house. The rooms seemed so small and it was smoggy. I had no friends.

I used to lock myself in the loft and cry. Every night I used to dream about Kashmir.

I never had an opportunity to go to school because I was in my late teens so I went to work.

The majority of the people working in the factory spoke Punjabi, English or Urdu, although there were quite a few Kashmiri kids.

We were a source of amusement for them and ridicule. They used to call us 'Pahapays' - which meant 'mountain monkeys'. I absolutely didn't like it!

After disliking school Dalaat is now studying for a Masters degree

One of the older guys who used to work there, Arthur befriended me. He used to teach me English and how to make English tea.

Pahari: wasn't a language

I always thought in Pahari and then translated that into English or Urdu or whatever.

People used to laugh at Pahari, they said that it wasn't a language because it couldn't be written.
But I tried to write in Pahari and eventually acquired that skill. I used to write and bin.

I've been writing for a very long time now. I write about grazing land (in Kashmir) and fishing - whatever comes into my head. I never showed anyone my stories because I had no confidence.

How I became a writer

A second film script is in the pipeline. He writes under the name Ali Adalt.

Then (in 1990) I went to a literature workshop in Oldham where the facilitator, Akhtar Imam Rizvi read out one of my stories. Everyone clapped and said it was great.

He asked if I had more stories. I said I'd written a lot.

At first I thought he was taking the micky but I gave him more stories. He put them together and produced my first book for me.

Then I wrote another one and I've recently written a novelette and then a film script.

I went to Jammu to make that film. (The title was 'Mehndi Laan De'). I was invited by Jammu University and Kashmir Cultural Academy and I received every award going.

And this is how I became a writer.