Published: Jan 05, 2015, 09:30 AM (IST)
Edited: Jan 04, 2015, 05:56 PM (IST)
Tiger Pataudi was one of the enduring mystiques of Indian cricket, partly because of his Royal background and partly because he was intensely private person. But those who knew Pataudi vouch that he could be real fun — a completely different person from the public persona.
He was a perfect gentleman, without being boring. As his wife Sharmila says: “If you were as correct as he was, you could end up being a tad tedious. But that is something no one could accuse him of. His wit came to the rescue every time.”
Sharmila then goes on to narrate an incident, in the book, Pataudi — Nawab of cricket: “Once Shammi Kapoor hijacked the taxi that Tiger and I had ordered for ourselves at a restaurant in a rain-blow Paris. I was really angry. Tiger decided to fall to his knees right there on the pavement with a bouquet of flowers whisked off a nearby table, completely flooring the fellow diners, and indeed me! My tantrum turned to laughter, which is precisely what he wanted. And the rain too was forgotten till the next cab rolled up for us. I guess it was a perfect capture of our courtship as we snatched time with each other between playing matches and shooting film!”
