Kapil Dev has taken a thousand flights to a hundred different places, but Hyderabad will always remain special and for a very sweet reason.
“My first ever flight was the one I boarded from Hyderabad to Delhi,” he says. Now, decades after his first flight, the former Test captain will be back in the city, but for something unrelated to cricket.
NGO Khushii headed by him is organising an Art Loot and Kapil is visiting for the same.
“I’ve always wanted to do charity. From the very beginning I decided to dedicate at least a portion of my life to charity and I’m doing that through Khushii.” he says.
Kapil has always stressed on the importance of education; explaining why, he says, “I’ve always believed that education is the most important thing we can give a person. I haven’t studied a lot, but I do know the importance of education and that is what we want to help deliver through this.”
Bringing the event to Hyderabad brings back a lot of memories for the former skipper.
“I used to come to Hyderabad quite often. Back then I would play here and so I would visit the city for many matches. Now that I’m going to be here again, it brings up memories that I had long forgotten.
“I feel a sense of pride and happiness thinking about the journey and how it has shaped up,” he says.
When you think of Kapil Dev, you can’t help but think of the ’83 World Cup win, but he surprises you when he says, “I haven’t touched a bat or a ball in the past 10-20 years. It’s a lot like school. You miss it dearly... but do you want to go back? I don’t think so... it is an era that’s gone and I feel happy when I think of it,” he says.
But, whenever he gets time out of his busy schedule, he loves to play golf.
“Golf relaxes me and I do make time for the game. Apart from that I spend time with my family, especially my daughter, whenever she is in the country. I like to just talk to her and spend time... it makes me very happy,” he says.
So, what’s a day in the life of Kapil like?
“It’s absolutely normal! I used to stick to a very strict regimen when I used to play, but now I do whatever makes me happy. There is no schedule to stick to,” he says. What about his friends? Is there someone he is still in touch with?
He says, “Oh I do have a few friends! Madan Lal is a close family friend. Also, contrary to what the media publishes, Sunil Gavaskar is someone I can pick up the phone and just call, we are good friends. Then there is also Maninder Singh and Bharath Reddy with whom I share a good rapport with. Apart from them I get along very well with Ajay Jadeja and yes, you can’t forget my entire team of ’83. We just spend a little time with each other and it’s as if we’re back in time.”
