New York: "I don't remember my birthday and I don't celebrate it," says Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

An unassuming Singh surprised accompanying reporters on board Prime Minister's special aircraft from London with this remark when asked how he planned to celebrate his birthday on September 26.

Becoming sentimental, the Oxford-Cambridge educated Singh said he had lost his mother at an early age. He explained that September 26 was the date shown in his school records.

Born in Gah in Peshawar in 1932, Singh, son of a fruit merchant, shot into prominence after he introduced liberalisation and was instrumental in steering India's economy from the pits of a severe balance of payments crisis.

His key aides say a cake will be cut on board the special aircraft 'Tanjore' when Singh will be flying to Geneva on his way home.

The mild mannered and soft-spoken 71-year Prime Minister made it a point to intermingle with the 35-strong media contingent giving insights to his Government's approach on several important issues.

He caught a woman scribe off-guard saying she had asked a "naughty" question at the joint press conference he addressed with British Prime Minister Tony Blair earlier in London before leaving for New York.