It was in 1966 at the Railways Institute ground that I had my first proper interaction with GR Viswanath. I remember the enthusiastic young man I had played some club cricket with, cycling to the ground where I was playing a match for the State Bank of Mysore team.
We always knew that Vishy was an exceptional talent. He had a guru next door called
Krishna, who was the godfather for all of us. He convinced Vishy to join our bank.
We soon stuck a good rapport and became friends. I have many memories of my days with my soul brother. While I’ve always been in awe of him as a cricket talent, it didn’t come in the way of us being great friends. We enjoyed the simple pleasures of life.
I remember going to his house in Rajajinagar. We would fill petrol for Rs 5 and go roaming on the bike. We were particularly fascinated riding under the bridge near Majestic because of the strange sound the bike made when we went under it. We still reminisce about those days when we go by the bridge. When we would come back from our rides, we always had hot food waiting for us at his place, cooked by his hospitable mother. I remember with fondness that she seldom missed giving us our favourite
bisi bele bath
and sandige.
When I think of GR Viswanath, the legend, there are many cricketing memories that come flooding. The defining 97 against West Indies in the 1974-75 series at Chepauk is among my favourites. I also remember with awe the 222 against England, also in Chennai.
The best sporting memory is of him calling back Bob Taylor in the 1980 Golden Jubilee in Mumbai after he was given out caught behind. That was the only decision of the umpire he ever disputed. It could have got him a bad name, but people still respect him for wonderful gesture.
That for me is the representation of Vishy, the person. Amidst all his cricket glory, what stands out is his sense of fair play. No matter what, he always gave his best. Once when he was batting at about 50, the substitute during the drinks break told him he was not in the squad for the next match. It did nothing to his spirit and focus. He remained unbeaten at the end of the day’s play.
It is with the same sense of fairness that he continued to play for the bank during his international career and beyond. Such was the commitment of Vishy, Roger Binny and Syed Kirmani that a day after arriving from a Test match, they would be among the first to report for a local league match. Those matches attracted huge crowds and served as a great advertisement for local leagues.
As our friendship grew and became stronger, there were plenty who tried to drive a wedge due to jealousy. People thought I was jealous of his success. But there was no question of jealousy because I always knew I could never match up to him or compare myself with him as a cricketer. He was a gifted talent and I knew that better than many others. Once I walked up to him and said, “The only thing that matters to me is our friendship and not who we were as individuals.” In fact, our respective wives call us the ‘first wife’ of their husbands!
I got 75 in my last Ranji Trophy match and wasn’t in the 25-member probables’ list the next season. A lot of people came and told me that my friend (Vishy was the captain) had dropped me. What they didn’t know was that after that match, both my captain and I were aware that I wouldn’t play another Ranji game thereafter.
A personal trait that is very endearing is that he is not a man after awards and rewards. To him, achievements and accolades are in his heart, not on the shelf. He doesn’t have too many of his bats, jerseys or international caps. In fact his, Arjuna Award citation was with me for a long time before his wife Kavitha put up a stand at home and took it away. He signed his first bat deal for Rs 1,000. He never got the money from the sponsor, and didn’t ask them either.
He is lucky to have found a life partner and friend in Kavitha. She is a wonderful soul who embraced his language, culture and family after moving from Mumbai.
Simplicity can well be Vishy’s middle name. He once came to the Chinnaswamy Stadium to play a Test match on his scooter, and even got fined Rs 5 for a traffic violation! He had no problem paying the fine, he only wanted to get to the stadium on time.
One habit of Vishy that had us in tenterhooks was his last-minute dash to the airport, and his forgetfulness.
Once, the family was to go to East Africa to celebrate his inlaws’ wedding anniversary. It was when they all reached Mumbai that someone realised that Vishy’s passport had expired. Kavitha called and asked me to sort out the passport issue urgently since they were to leave the next night. Vishy who was already in Mumbai, returned to get passport sorted but promptly forgot to take it back with him! Eventually, Kavitha’s sister arranged for an Air India pilot to deliver it at the airport.
Vishy is a very selfless person. I’ve never seen him unhappy, personally or professionally. He is a man without ego. He was the national chairman of selectors when my benefit match was staged. Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsakar,
Kiran More, Kris Srikanth and a young Sachin Tendulkar were a part of the match in Hubli. The Mumbai players’ flight was delayed, and the train from Bengaluru to Hubli would have departed without them when Vishy requested the railway department to delay the departure and personally picked up the players at the airport.
Not many know that he has a flair for other sports as well. He started off playing badminton, table tennis,
snooker
and billiards, and is of course an avid golfer now. He played all those sports for fun, but with the same competitive and fair spirit with which he played cricket.
Over time, we’ve had our arguments and a few fights as well. We used to stop talking too at times. But that stopped in 2009 following the death of our dear friend Vishnuvardhan. Around the time Vishnu passed away, we hadn’t spoken for two to three months due to some silly reason that I can’t even remember now. His death shook us. Vishy called and said, “I’ve lost a good friend and I don’t want to lose another.” That day we met, hugged, shed tears and vowed to put our minor differences aside forever.
To the world, he will always be a cricket legend. To me, he is someone who walked the talk, a cricket great who played the sport in the right spirit, a person who has a great sense of humour, and a friend who is selfless and honest.
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