Jaipur Literature Festival organizer William Dalrymple might have insisted that this year would feature no ‘Oprahs’ (like previous years) so instead the audience got a newly minted Padma Bhushan awardee.
Padma Bhushan Rahul Dravid to write his autobiography?
Dravid might have missed out on the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, but something bigger was in store for ‘The Wall’. Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian honor in the country which was bestowed to Dravid and MC Mary Kom (for Boxing) in the field of sports. Sushil Kumar was the other nomination who missed out of the recognition despite being the only Indian to win two Olympic individual Silver medals for India in the back to back Olympics.
The celebrated cricketer was greeted with the largest crowd of the festival so far – with the security shutting down the gates to stop the situation turning into an uncontrollable one. “This is bigger than some of the test match crowds we usually get,” renowned cricket writer Suresh Menon, who sat on the panel with Dravid and Dutch scholar Ian Buruma, joked.
Panel moderator Rajdeep Sardesai, meanwhile, revealed that the cricket great is also planning to pen his autobiography, something that Rahul Dravid himself confirmed he is seriously thinking about.
‘The Wall’ spoke to the audience about the way cricket has become more democratic and the changes that have occurred since the advent of the Indian Premier League. “One thing that has happened is that relations between players have never been better,” Dravid said. “I had played against Jacques Kallis for a decade, but we never talked much in all that time. He’s not a very talkative person. But in the last three years in the IPL, we have got a lot closer.”
After prompting, Dravid admitted that his heart suggested India and Pakistan should play cricket more often – and that matches shouldn’t be moved out of cities like Mumbai. “But the reality is that sports and politics do mix.”
Dravid had announced his retirement from Tests and domestic cricket in March this year after a career spanning over 16 years in which he won some major accolades and achieved numerous heights for not only himself but also for the Indian Cricket team.
The BCCI had also recommended Indian Gautam Gambhir’s name for the Padma Shri award. The southpaw has been an integral part of the Team India. However Gambhir was unlucky to miss out on the Padma Shri award this year.
Tags: Autobiography, Cricket, MC Mary Kom, Padma Bhushan, Rahul Dravid, Rajdeep Sardesai, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Sports, The Wall
