It was a plan well made. Sourav Ganguly would be back from Lord’s by 12:30pm after his meeting, and we would catch up at his Waterloo apartment over lunch to set up the England-India series. Ganguly is always a delight to speak to, and more when it is in London and about Test cricket.
What we hadn’t factored in was that the train journey from Oxford to London Paddington could be badly messed up. An incident at Reading meant the train wouldn’t go to Paddington, and one had to shift to the Waterloo option from Reading. Actually, it wasn’t a bad one, with Ganguly’s London apartment just a stone’s throw from the Waterloo underground station.
As I walked out and called him, Sourav seemed in a very good mood. “You there?” he said. “Lovely day to meet. Just walk to the apartment and I will be there in five minutes.”
And truth be told, he was indeed there in five minutes. Why I am saying this? For those who know, they know! As we went up to the apartment, may I say, the view was incredible. It opens straight into the London Eye on one side, and the Thames on the other, and the balcony is just fantastic to sit and have a coffee on a good weather day.
But then, the pleasant surprise hadn’t been mentioned yet. Sourav said to me with a huge smile, “Got special aloo posto for you for lunch. Sana has made it. Have Bhat, aloo posto and kaju barfi!”
Tania, who has worked with Sourav for years now and is one of my close friends, chipped in. “Try the aloo kopir tarkari also,” she said. Now, this was becoming quite a meal. I had not had aloo posto for nearly a month now since leaving India, and must say it was cooked to perfection. Sana served it like the perfect host, and Tania insisted I have a second helping!
Post lunch, Sourav and I got to the interview, which needless to say was fantastic. He has tremendous clarity of thought and few understand the sport better. Sourav spoke at length about captaincy, batting, the importance of Jasprit Bumrah, and how you need to look ugly and bat tough in England. We will be playing the interview on RevSportz tomorrow, and it will be a fascinating one for anyone who watches.
As we finished the conversation, it was time for me to leave. I had a 4pm train to catch, even as Sourav suggested I should have stayed longer. He had a 8am flight to catch back to India, and that was when I asked him if he was coming back for the series.
“Either for Edgbaston or Lords,” he replied. “Will come for one of the Test matches.” Sana chipped in, saying that he should come for Lord’s, for that would allow a father-and-daughter birthday celebration on July 8.
It was a perfect day of sorts, except that I missed my off-peak train on the way back and had to get a new peak ticket. But then, the Sourav interview and, maybe more so, the aloo posto made it worth it.
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