Personal

British Journalism Review

I grew up wanting to emulate Neville Cardus, the legendary cricket correspondent of The Manchester Guardian. In my Jesuit school, in the city I shall always call Bombay, Cardus’s essay on the cricketer Ranji was part of our syllabus. And while I realised that it would be difficult for me to be exactly like my hero – he spent his summers writing about cricket and his winters being the paper’s music critic – I felt sure that once The Guardian realised how wonderful my cricket knowledge was, they would find plenty for me to do in the winter. If nothing else, I could go on those long cricket tours which meant you escaped the English cold.

I must confess I have not fulfilled that dream. But then there are many other dreams I have not fulfilled, which include scoring a century in a Lord’s Test and the winning Cup Final goal at Wembley. However, while I may not have become The Guardian’s cricket correspondent, I have no complaints about how my career has gone. What worries me is that the younger journalists cannot even dream like me.

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The Sunday Times

When Sony Entertainment Television, a channel aimed at south Asians, held a party to mark Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, it chose an unlikely theme: James Bond, writes Mihir Bose.

Guests arrived at a London five-star hotel to find everything associated with Her Majesty’s most famous secret agent: cars, cocktails, casino tables and an actor pretending to be Blofeld, Bond’s deadly enemy — stroking a cat for good measure.

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What a great honour and privilege it was to return to Loughborough University on 13 September and receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters (Hon DLitt) for outstanding contribution to journalism and the promotion of equality.

When I came to study Industrial Engineering from India, I could never have imagined this. I have such fond memories of Loughborough, having been elected president of the Student’s Union soon after I arrived.

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In the last few days, I have fulfilled a long term ambition: to go to the Edinburgh Festival. It came about because I was asked to speak about my book, The Spirit of the Game, at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. My wife, Caroline, and I decided we would combine the trip with an extended stay in Edinburgh, taking in the shows and events of the Festival we had heard so much about.

The book festival discussion, of which I was a part, chaired wonderfully by Ruth Wishart, was illuminating. It showed how much the London 2012 Games have had an impact on the country. The most interesting moment was when a P. E. Teacher from Perthshire (I think I have the region right) said that funding for sport inhis school had been cut from £5,000 to £1,700. At the end of the meeting, a businessman in the crowd offered him a donation. To think that a discussion on sport can have such an impact is wonderfully uplifting.

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I have a replica torch, but I wouldn’t dream of putting it on eBay. The buying and selling of Olympic products demeans the Games.

guardian.co.uk

A few years ago a dear friend of mine celebrated his 50th birthday. For weeks I could not think of what to get him. Then I remembered that he had played for his school cricket team and his performances had featured in Wisden, the game’s bible. My problem was solved. I got him the Wisden that recorded his schoolboy bowling feats.

For me this was the ideal use of sport memorabilia linking a person to a particular deed. What I cannot understand is why people would want sport objects when they have no link with the event the object commemorates. I cannot for the life of me understand why people who have not taken part in the 2012 torch relay want to acquire a replica torch. And I am even more dumbfounded that those taking part are prepared to sell their replica torches on eBay, even if their profit goes to charity. Read more…