One of the most often seen sights at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) was of a tall, silver-haired figure, impeccably turned out, playing host to those who visited. His loud, hearty laugh often rang around the grounds. The manners flawless, the speech dignified, he gave CCI its royal aura.
Raj Singh Dungarpur was a colossus of Indian cricket but he will forever be remembered as the most passionate patron of the CCI. As its best-ever president too. On Saturday, the club bore a sombre look as the news of his demise came in. Regulars at the club talked in hushed toned and sat reminiscing about the time when Rajbhai would walk up to them, and crack a joke or say a kind word or two.
Nandini Sardesai, wife of late Dilip Sardesai, was one such. “I used to come to CCI 40 years ago and I still come here. And this place has changed so much. Rajbhai transformed the CCI – gave it the five star status. The facilities, everything here is top class. The club will never be the same without him,” she told DNA.
President of the club for 13 years, Rajbhai was a lover of the game and held all cricketers in high regard. “He had a lot of respect for cricketers. Anyone who had played for the country, Raj considered him noble. He gave out a lot of honorary memberships to former cricketers, which I thought was a kind gesture,” Nandini said.
KD Tambe, who has been working at the club since 1979, said, “He was like God for all of us working here. In the thirty years that I’ve been here, I have never had a harsh word from him.”
Prakash Dahatonde, the Librarian at the club, said with a touch of sadness: “It was sad to see how his health deteriorated (due to Alzheimer’s disease). I’ve worked with him very closely. But there were days when he would forget who I was and ask ‘Do you work here?’”
