By KULBHUSHAN KAIN
It is not often that one gets to meet a world record holder. It’s even rarer that, that record holder created the record on his first international appearance in a cricket test match. It is even more mind boggling that the record still stands 50 years after it was created. It was a great honour to host Yajurvindra Singh. He came to walk the streets of nostalgia having studied at Welham Boys’ School between the years 1957 -1961!
First to the record bit. Brought into the side against England at Bangalore in 1976-77 to strengthen the middle-order batting, he took five catches to equal the record held by Australia’s Vic Richardson against South Africa in 1935-36. That record still stands. In the second innings he held two more and this saw him equal the record held by Richardson’s grandson Greg Chappell who took seven catches against England in 1974-75. The record of taking 7 catches in a test match by a non-wicketkeeper stood for nearly 40 years before it was broken by another Indian – Ajinkya Rahane.
Yajurvindra Singh was a fine batsman. He had to be — playing in a team that had the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Anshuman Gaikwad, Brijesh Patel, Chetan Chauhan, Dilip Vengsarkar, Kapil Dev and others. He could defend dourly or play strokes, as the situation warranted, and was an occasional medium-pace bowler aside from being a brilliant close in fielder.
Yajurvindra not only played for India with cricketing greats as his team mates –but he played against some of the all time greatest bowlers and batsmen– Alan Border, Kim Hughes, Dav Whatmore (who later became a legendary cricket coach), Dennis Amiss, Mike Braerley, Tony Greig, and arguably the best wicketkeeper of all time – Alan Knott. He also played against bowlers such as Derek Underwood (“on a turning wicket he was unplayable”), Bob Willis, Chris Old, John Lever among many others. He considers Ian Botham as the greatest all rounder the world of cricket has seen. He also played with, and against such Indian great bowlers such as Prasanna, Bedi, Chandrasekhar, Karsan Ghavri and others. Infact when he created the world record of snapping up 5 catches – three of them were off the bowling of Chandrasekhar and two off the bowling of Prasanna!
Before, I met him, I was skeptical about the kind of person I was going to meet. After all he is a world record holder and has a princely lineage – he comes from the royal family of Bilkha. But I need not have had any doubts. Yajurvendra Singh came across as one of the most lovable, well read, charming and endearing human beings I have met. Ditto with his wife Rajkumari Lina Bilkha –very educated and a very successful professional. She has been involved in Women Talent Coaching, Leadership Coaching, and Inter-Cultural Coaching .
We took them around the school. Its only then, that I realized what a phenomenal memory he has. He asked where the sand pit had disappeared. “I used to build castles with the sand,” he reminisced. And with a naughty smile he said, “In life I continued to build castles in the air!”
He paused outside the Bethany building and recalled that they used to have functions there. He also recalled that after any match or function, they were asked to speak.
“I learnt how to speak in front of people here,” he said, pointing to what is now a skating area.
Some kids asked him about his fondest memories of Welhams. He told them that as a young boy, he remembered he came to school on a tonga from the railway station.
“I wonder what has happened to the tongawallahs and the tongas,” he added.
He also told them that he was very good at the piano and that he had recently found a book which was given to him as a prize for coming first in a music competition.
“Those days books were given as prizes. Ms Eisenhower our music teacher, presented me the book and and it is a very prized possession,” he recalled. He regretted that he had to give up his love for the piano, but was quick to add,
“What my hands lost in helping me in doing (playing the piano), they found in helping me in setting a world record. So its ok. I did not waste them in that sense”.
He also remembered Miss Oliphant the legendary Principal who started Welham Boys’ School,
“She was always dressed so neatly. She appeared so meticulous,” he averred.
He recalled how on every Sunday, all the kids were taken for a picnic to a forest where they were served biryani and given a slab of chocolate each. The picnic was next to a rivulet where they even caught small fish!!
I brought him back from memories of his days at Welhams, to cricket. Who does he think is the greatest batsman he has played with, or against?
“Undoubtedly Sunil Gavaskar. I shared a room with him in England and he is so focused and organized. Even if his wife would come to meet him –if he had a schedule, he would just leave and go. I have never met anyone as organized as him.” Incidentally, Yajuvindra Singh stays in the same housing complex where Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri, Polly Umrigar and many great cricketers stay. They get together often and share a great camaraderie.
We sat for lunch and over a meal of methi chicken, pulao, paneer makhni, bhindi, dal, dahi vadas, I asked him the one question that I had reserved till the end.
“Did you ever meet Sir Gary Sobers ”?
“Yes” he replied and continued,
“India was playing at the Oval in England and I was getting ready to bat. I was in the process of wearing my thigh guard and my cricket trousers were down till my knees. Suddenly Tiger Patuadi brought Gary Sobers into our dressing room. He introduced me and Gary Sobers looked at my thigh guard and asked,
“What is that you are putting on?”
Yajuvindra Singh was surprised as to why the greatest cricketer of all times should be asking such an obvious question. He told Sir Gary that the thigh pad was used to protect ones thigh against a fast ball that may hit your thigh.
“I asked Sir Gary as to how he protected his thigh against a fast bowler.”
Pat came the reply from Sir Gary,
“Young man I use the bat!”
There were tales and anecdotes, about cricket, about royalty, about education, about the corporate world, about the use of computers –about everything.
There was one conclusion I came to- Yajuvindra Singh seemed to know everything about everything!!!
(Kulbhushan Kain is an award winning educationist with more than 4 decades of working in schools in India and abroad. He is a prolific writer who loves cricket, travelling and cooking. He can be reached at kulbhushan.kain@gmail.com)
