Raj Singh Dungarpur well and in high spirits

The legion of friends and well wishers of Raj Singh Dungarpur will be pleased to learn that he is well and in high spirits.

Raj Singh Dungarpur well and in high spirits

I visited Raj at the Worli residence of his niece Janvi Kumari Mehta, daughter of his elder brother Jaisinhji of Dungarpur, along with Sunil Gavaskar, last weekend.

Having been discharged a few days previously from the Bombay Hospital (where he was in the Intensive Care Unit for a long time), Raj was upbeat, although a trifle frail.

A twinkle in his eye, Raj guffawed diplomatically in inimitable contagious manner when I asked him jokingly if PBH (Peter May, former England Test captain and his batting idol) was still his favourite in this day and age of Twenty20 instant gratification.

Gracious as ever, Raj Singh congratulated Gavaskar on the release of his biography "SMG" (we had come directly from the release of the book at the CCI by Rahul Dravid) and wished him success, obviously wishing to let bygones be bygones in his rather frosty relationship with the batting legend, who, on his part, unhesitatingly agreed to my suggestion to call on Raj.

Better: Raj Singh Dungarpur
'Lacking vitality'
Niece Janvi told me the former BCCI and CCI president, himself a legend in his lifetime who has lived cricket for most of his life is "doing good, but lacking vitality".

She said he is eating "voraciously" and undergoing regular physiotherapy, although "mobility is a long way off".

Raj Singh has been walking at home with the help of his physio, but the routine is "excruciating" and "takes a heavy toll of him", according to Janvi.

As we bid Raj goodbye, brother Jaisinh requested us to inform his close friends his brother would be happy if they were to visit him. However, he stressed that certainu00a0 individuals, who had been "creating problems", were unwelcome.

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