When the Ambani’s invite you, you don’t say no. It seemed like that anyway

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at the Taj Mahal Hotel’s Sea Lounge last week, when the biggest and most distinguished crowd you can imagine, turned up for a book launch. And that too for a volume on cricket. I won’t be rude and say that a large number of those present had never picked up a book before, but I can say with confidence that most wouldn’t have even seen a cricket book.

That goes for cricketers too. I remember Virender Sehwag (who was present) once being asked in an interview about Vinoo Mankad. “Vinoo, who?” he said. Further questioning revea­led that he neither knew anything about the history or traditions of cricket, nor was he particularly bothered to fill the awesome gaps in his knowledge.

I wouldn’t be surprised if two of the other cricketers present that evening, Harbhajan Singh and Yuvraj Singh too subscribe to the theory of ‘Cricket is just a game. Why complicate it by reading about it?’ But they came anyway: after all Neeta, besides being an Ambani owns Mumbai Indians in the IPL. So out they trooped for the release of Shashi Tharoor and Shaharyar Khan’s Shadows Across the playing Fields.

Which of the other cricketers present would have read a cricket book? Sachin Tendulkar for sure: He treats his pre-eminent position in Indian cricket with the respect it deserves and what’s the use of belonging to history if you know nothing about it? Sanjay Manjrekar most definitely has a library; he is that kind of thoughtful looking person. Dilip Vengsarkar must read too as must Ajit Wadekar (even if it’s only his own book). Lalit Modi must read extensively, but cricket books? Probably not. He seems more like the kind of chap who would devour everything written on marketing.

I would think that would go for most of the industrialists present too, like Ashok Hinduja and Mukesh Ambani himself. Adi Godrej is different: Not only is he passionately interested in the game, he is knowledgeable too. We discussed Shashi Tha­roor’s description of the slow run-rates in India-Pakistan mat­ches (because neither side wanted to risk a loss), when Godrej made a valid point about run rates: they have gone up now because of one-day cricket, but they were very high in Brad­man’s time too, when no limited overs games were played.

Tharoor, in conversation with Harsha Bhogle, was as articulate as ever, but now he speaks with the added gravitas of an author who is also a minister in the central government. An average cricket writer would be expected to say something on the lines of Indo-Pakistan Tests being the equivalent of the Ashes and how good it would be if they were resumed, but a minister of state in the foreign ministry could only say that there could be nothing, not even cricket, bet­ween the two countries unless Pakistan took strong anti-terrorism steps. Shadows across the playing fields for sure.

A small, non-cricketing, observation: When Nita Ambani read her speech (full of cricketing metaphor and phrases), her husband sat at the edge of his seat, his eyes fixed adoringly at her, his ears catching every word she said. And when it was Mukesh’s turn to speak, there was Nita leaning forward on her seat, her eyes fixed adoringly at him, her ears catching every word he said. Love means never having to say, ‘sorry, I didn’t catch what you just said.”

Mumbai is full of launches, launches in fact for everything. But this one surprised me. ‘Electronic Communication,’ the invitation card said, “has evolved as the backbone of today’s fast track lifestyle and being a firm exponent of this technology, I have tried to make myself available at all times through email. It now gives me great pleasure to invite you to the launch of my...” guesses?

The launch was for the gentleman’s website, complete with media presence, cocktails and dinner. I am in the process of doing my own website at the moment, but once it’s done, would I have the gall to call people for its ‘launch’? I couldn’t for sure. I wouldn’t have the money either.