3) Rahul Dravid Introduces Himself! Seriously?
I recently met him at his house to show a product that I had developed. I had always heard about his humility and down to earth nature, I was nervous anyway. I was waiting at his office in his house, he came down in around 5 odd minutes. Just as he came, I stood up and introduced myself,” Hi I am Mirik.” He shook my hand and replied, ” Hi I am Rahul, nice to meet you”.
I was awestruck, he introduced himself to me! I could not reply, the man that the whole of India and the cricketing world knows and adores, still introduced himself just like anyone else does. Later on thinking, I myself thought that during my team as the head of the organizing committee of my college festival, when juniors would have come to meet me to discuss something, I would not have introduced myself, assuming that they know me. My respect for him, which was really very high before, went up even more.
4) An Awkward Phone Conversation With Sports Authority of India
It was 1998. I was 7 years old.
My mother works at the Sports Authority of India, Headquarters. Back then, she was with the Teams Division, and was dealing with the administration of the Arjuna Awards that year. One evening, as she was really pressurized and soaked in work, she received this call (excerpts below)
Mom: Hello?
Other Guy: Good evening Maam. I wanted to enquire about the Arjuna Awards.
Mom: This is the admin office. Please call the inquiry office.
Other Guy: Sorry to disturb you maam. Actually I am Rahul speaking and I am supposed to receive the….
Mom (irritated): (Interrupting) I am in the middle of a lot of work. Please don’t disturb and call the inquiry office. *hangs up*
Then, as she started working again, she had this feeling that something was not right. She called back.
Mom: Who is this?
Other Guy: Rahul.
Mom: Rahul Dravid?
Other Guy: Yes.
*awkward silence ensued*.
After that, mom apologized and ensured his query got addressed. He was really polite all the while and also apologized to mom for disturbing her at work. Back at home, it took me a week before I forgave her for being rude to my idol.
