Bowled over by Bedi

It was in April 2013 that I was discussing with my Co trustee V Ranganathan as to who should be invited to deliver the 2013 Palkhivala memorial lecture. Why not try a different type of speaker and a completely different subject was the view. After discussing a few names we zeroed in on Bishan Singh Bedi. We had to bring in the Palkhivala connection. The obvious common factor was both practised and preached the 3 Ts — truth, transparency and tenacity. Both had the interest of India uppermost in their minds.

Subject chosen

The decision having been made I called up my friend Nirmal Sekhar of The Hindu with the mandate to fix up the event. Nirmal did the telephone introduction and left it to me and Bedi to work out details. From then on it was almost everyday morning calls till the date of the event — July 13, 2013. After a series of protracted conversations we froze the subject — ‘Is Cricket facing a Credibility Crisis’. There were several episodes and events happening on and off the field in the context of T20 which was damaging the reputation of the game. Hence this subject was chosen.

Bedi flew into Chennai from Delhi on the afternoon of July 12, 2013, and was put up at a city hotel. We had arranged a dinner that evening with a few cricketing friends and industrialists of Chennai at the Madras Club. I went to pick him up at his hotel at 7 pm and found him in casual wear and ready to leave for the dinner. I told him that he has to be in formal wear and collared shirt. Bedi was furious. “Who framed these rules? Give me the number of the President of the club and I will speak to him to make the exception.” I replied, “Sir, it is possible to even alter the Constitution of India but not the rules of Madras Club.”

After cajoling and persuasion we managed to get a collared shirt and made him wear it. After the dinner I dropped him back to the hotel. I was already nervous since Bedi was already at his belligerent best and I was a trifle worried as to what he would speak the next day since the subject itself was a bit controversial. I asked in the car, “Sir, do you have a prepared speech? What do you propose to cover and hope nothing too controversial?” Bedi glared at me and retorted: “I have never prepared for speeches. I will speak straight from my heart. Your job ends with selecting the speaker and the topic.” Needless to mention I did not sleep that entire night.

Shoe episode

The next day morning was even more eventful. VS Jayakumar, Trustee, was to pick him up from the hotel at 9.15 am to bring him to Rani Seethai Hall at 10.am. The event was to start at 11 am. Jayakumar reached the hotel and discovered Bedi was missing. A tense Jayakumar tried to reach him but his mobile was switched off. It transpired that Bedi found out that his shoes were bitten by rats and got damaged. He took an autorickshaw and rushed to a showroom at TTK Road. The nonchalant Bedi dragged a stool climbed on it and located the correct pair of shoes to wear. He returned to the hotel at around 9.45 am and narrated this to a tense Jayakumar with the following punch lines: “Never travel for an event with old pair of shoes and never assume that rats will not bite old pair of shoes.”

Bedi reached the venue at 10.30 am and the event started on time. As expected the straight from heart talk was inspiring and laced with abundant sense of humour. The audience (almost a packed hall) liked every moment of his talk. A particular reference was made to bowlers these days jumping up and down and dancing after taking a wicket. Bedi mentioned, “In those days it was the bowler’s job to take wickets and just move on without any fanfare.”

The above incidents are fresh in memory and hence felt it would appropriate to pen them down as a tribute to the one and only Bishan Singh Bedi. May his soul rest in peace.

The writer is Trustee, Palkhivala Foundation

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