TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT

An ode to Cricketer Tiger Pataudi, ex-India Captain, on his passing away in 2011

There was no denying I was in love with the Nawab of Pataudi since my childhood days. Ever since I can remember to have held a cricket bat, I was inspired by this dashing young man and held in awe by the manner in which he played his cricket, in the way he led the Indian team as the youngest captain ever, and the grace and style he exuded both on and off the field. In the 60’s before TV had entered our drawing rooms, I recall being stuck to my transistor till late at night to hear the running commentary with bated breath and incredible excitement as Tiger made a fantastic century at Headingly in 1967, or when India won its first away Test match against the New Zealanders later that year under his crafty leadership.

My first glimpse of him was at my school in La Martiniere, Calcutta where he came in to address us when India was playing New Zealand in 1965. He held us enthralled with the candor and finesse with which he fielded questions. We all wanted to be like him. Asked what he predicted would be the result in the series (Calcutta was the 2nd Test of the 5-match series), he said, straight off the bat, ‘they’ are a good team, but we should do well in Delhi. Sure enough, two Tests later, India beat the New Zealanders at the Feroze Shah Kotla, where Pataudi himself cracked a brilliant century.

Years later over lunch with the Tiger, I reminded him of this story. In his laconic way, he drawled, “Yes, I knew we would have the measure of those guys on a spinning track like the Kotla.” By this time, I had had the good fortune of coming personally close to the legend himself. His cricketing career done, and even his journalistic career (as editor of Sportsworld) put to bed, Tiger was into commentary and flirting with politics. My own advertising career in JWT India (then called Hindustan Thompson Associates) had me in a lead role of the venerated ITC (Wills) account, one of the principal sponsors of cricket through the 80’s, had me hobnobbing closely with many of the biggies of the game, even travelling with them. Having pioneered the Wills Books of Excellence series on various sports, my personal project was then to launch India’s first film tribute to the emergence of India in One Day Cricket through a documentary video. I had signed on film-maker Ramesh Sharma to direct the film, but now needed an anchor to tell the story behind India’s string of successes from the 1983 World Cup to the 1987 Asia Cup. Having identified Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi as a potential anchor, it was an adventure for me to fix an appointment with his PA and go to pitch the idea to him in his home one afternoon. He and his family were gracious as hosts, and in short, I came away having surprisingly easily obtained his concurrence to participate in the project.

With that began a period of close association with the Tiger, and I came to know him not only as an icon on my mental pedestal, but also as a human being with surprising humility.

Tiger had a flair about doing things; once he focused on anything, he would get his teeth into it. He had an infectious sense of humor, and was always candid and insightful in his comments. He really got into the script of our film and participated with verve and enthusiasm, and even offered his own back-garden to be the venue of filming some of our interviews with touring Pakistani cricketers, Imran Khan and Abdul Qadir.

Personal recollections aside, here was a man who touched many generations with his greatness. He attracted cricket lovers to throng to the grounds, he walked close to the high profile world of Bollywood and television along with his celebrity family members, he worked to support the people of his various constituencies Bhopal, Hyderabad and served ably in cricket administration to uphold the propagation of the game. He was an unassuming man of great personal magnetism and charisma, and despite being the focus of adulation of millions, this short, diminutive gentleman stood tall and stood apart. They simply don’t make Nawabs like him anymore. RIP.