5) Never Says No To A Fan!
It was during India’s tour of Australia in Dec 2011. Adelaide being a small city, it is very easy to spot cricketers in the CBD area whenever there is a match at Adelaide oval. I and my friends were all excited and we had planned to be around Adelaide CBD after 9 PM with a hope of spotting few cricketers. We did manage to click photographs and get autographs from few cricketers on the first day and hence decided to do the same the next day.
In my mind I was just hoping that somehow I could just get a glimpse of Rahul Dravid, the man I have respected, adored and admired from the day I have started following cricket. And there he was, crossing the traffic light! I literally asked my friend to pinch myself before I ran behind him to request for a photograph. With a smile, he acknowledged and posed for a picture and signed the cricket bat.
As he was with someone, I thought it won’t be very appropriate if I would ask him for another photograph for my friend who was clicking the pic. But to my surprise, he himself asked if my friend would want a photograph with him as well. I was bowled over by this small sweet gesture. This sweet, small gesture is what makes him a humble soul and the true gentleman of the game.
6) Just Dravid Things!
I think i was on my first or second date with Parth Pooniwala. We went to this really beautiful,quaint rooftop restaurant in Indira Nagar called Max Cafe. We were sitting on the corner table, sipping tea and talking. After about 10 minuntes, I notice that there is someone familiar on the table next to us. I almost screamed out when i realized, it was Rahul Dravid with his two sons.
He was just sitting there, calmly like it was his home with no celebrity air. He went to the counter, took the menu( He didn’t even bother the waiter) and placed the order. I was shocked by the humility of the man. We thought to take the autograph but then decided otherwise to not disturb the family gathering and quietly left.
