Taj was born to a shepard's family in Bumboret, one of the three Kalash Valleys. His family was Kalash, but when he was five years old his parents converted to Islam.  Although Taj did not convert, he was sent to the local madrassa, the only school in the village, where the Muslim faith was preached and classes were taught in Urdu and Arabic.  A Kalash uncle, fearing that Taj would soon be converted as well, took Taj to the capitol, Islamabad, where, instead of an Islamic madrassa, Taj attended a Christian missionary school. There, he worked with a team of missionaries who were trying to create an alphabet that could be used to translate the Bible into the Kalash language.  Although Taj did not adopt the Christian faith, as one of the few educated members of his tribe, he recognized the value inherent in what these missionaries were trying to do. Giving the Kalash people an alphabet for their language would give them the power to learn in their own mother tongue. Thus, he made it his own mission see the alphabet project completed.  Taj moved to Thessaloniki, Greece, enrolled in a course of linguistics at the university there, and, with the help of a Greek NGO, managed to publish a small book to be used in teaching the alphabet to the Kalash children.