Meeting Ramesh Krishnan
When I was waiting in line at immigration at the Madras airport on my way back to New York, India’s foremost tennis player, Ramesh Krishnan, was just behind me.I congratulated him on winning the Davis Cup and invited him to come to our tennis ground in New York. I made a spontaneous request, and he gave an immediate acceptance.
By the time we passed through immigration, he was way ahead of me. So he came back to where I was and asked for my card. In the future I have to carry a card!
Luckily, I still had a Centre envelope. But I also wanted to give him my phone number. I had brought six or seven ballpoint pens with me; but now that I needed one, none was available. I searched and searched and finally found one. So I gave him Annam Brahma’s phone number.
Then some officials came and took him through customs. He was a great man so he got special treatment. Poor me, I had to wait on line.
On the flight from Madras to Bombay, God alone knows where he sat. But on the flight from Bombay to London, we both happened to be on the upper deck in Clipper Class. He was sitting very near me and we could see each other clearly.
He knows how to sleep! He slept through two or three meals. While he was sleeping, like a rogue I was observing how strong his wrist and arm were.
— 30 July 1987
