A foodie cricketer, that�s you?
Well, I love food, I enjoy eating out, that�s because I was accidentally born in a palace at a time when every state and royal seat in the country had its own cuisine and it was common to go from one place to another and sample the food.
You�re saying you have aristocratic tastes?
Yes, I used to go game hunting for partridge, wild boar, sambal, there was great fishing to be had in the lake across Dungarpur Palace, and in the winter, duck shooting was a sport.
What kind of tastebuds do you now have?
I like Chinese food though I now don�t go to restaurants very much. I love the Chinaman at the Blue Diamond in Pune and the Mainland China there. I think the eateries in Pune are far superior to those in Bombay. Though there�s nothing to touch the Royal Western India Turf Club�s breakfast in Bombay. Or the Minced Chicken at the CCI. My ultimate meal, however, is a well-cooked Mutton Biryani.
What kind of meals do you have?
My breakfast is fruits only, lunch is Continental and dinner is Indian. That�s a hat-trick of tastes, isn�t it? But I�m a careful eater now. I�m on a diet. My blood sugar is not what it should be. Which is boring! I try to keep fit. I�m out at 4.30 a.m. on the Marine Drive seaface for a morning walk. I walk for an hour-and-half.
And what are the foods you enjoy most?
Oh, I�m a great muncher. I love chana, peanuts, I go head over heels on corn in any form, and I love the fresh, sweet winter green peas. I love shopping for fruit and vegetables. I do that in London, at Marks & Spencers, and on Warden Road in Bombay. I enjoy buying apples. But I don�t eat them! This is a fad with me. I buy apples because they remind me of a red, shiny cricket ball. Cricket is deeply imbibed in me. I shine the apples like a bowler does with the ball.
Who would you invite to form your table at a dream dinner?
Sir Len Hutton, Vinoo Mankad, I enjoy the funny stories he has to tell, Polly Umrigar, who is a bigger eater than me, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, because I suppose there has to be at least one well-behaved guest, and Hanumant Singh, who I grew up with.
Raj Singh Dungarpur, that grand old man of Indian cricket and former president of the BCCI, is a regular fixture at Polly�s Bar in the CCI at Bombay, because former Test cricketer Polly Umrigar is a great friend of his. He likes his food and his wines as much as he enjoys cricket. And there is not a single cricketer in India who has not wined and dined with Dungarpur at the CCI.
