India's living first-class cricketer is 6-days away from 2nd century

The day we arrive at former firstclass cricketer and cricket historian Vasant Naisadrai Raijis home in Walkeshwar which once overlooked the rocks of a placid Girgaum Chowpatty getting the name Rockside it had barely been 24 hours since Sachin Tendulkar and former Australian skipper Steve Waugh had called on him It was meant to be a surprise visit for the veteran who will turn 100 on January 26 With this Raiji becomes the only living Indian firstclass cricketer to have scored a century in the game called lifeFor Raiji who has followed Tendulkars game closely since he was a student of Sharadashram Vidyamandir English High School and who he in an earlier interview described as an incarnation of late righthanded batsman LP Jai the visit was the perfect early birthday giftBut a day on he has no recollection of itSachin ahiyaa avyo hato Had Sachin come here he asks his wife Panna Raiji 94 entering the drawing room with help from a walker after wrapping up some reading in his study When she nods he apologises Sorry my memory is failing me Firstclass umpire Marcus Couto also part of that meeting reminds him that he had asked Sachin a question about the toughest bowler he has ever faced Raiji draws a blank But he is keen to talk cricket You need to be loud enough Couto says he is hard of hearingVasant Raiji enjoying a quiet moment on his terraceThis is our second visit to Rockside The first was in late September 2017 when Raiji was 97 More agile then he had discussed how Mahatma Gandhi influenced Indian cricket without ever having wielded a bat Today we are here to discuss him and his obsession for the game It was my father Naisadrai Raiji who initiated me and my brother Madan Raiji into the game as little boys He encouraged us to play itHis mother Jayshree a Gandhian and Satyagrahi participated in the independence movement including the Salt March of 1930 when Raiji was 10 She was jailed twice at Yerawada in Pune The children were however not exposed to this information The focus was always on education and sportRaijis wife Panna 94 has been married to him for over 70 yearsRaiji was 13 when he watched his first international Test match at the Bombay Gymkhana grounds in 1933 India was playing against England and thats where Lala Amarnath Bharadwaj made his debut He got 118 in that game Raiji remembers distinctly It would make Amarnath the first Indian batsman to score a century for India in Test cricket That spell would also mark his own fascination for the game Back then there was no culture of deciding he says when asked how and when he thought of becoming a cricketer His father didnt want him to become a professional player he was always meant to assist him at the familys chartered accountancy firm NM Raiji amp Co Cricket was a hobbyIn his early 20s Raiji got two opportunities to play for Bombay in the Ranji Trophy his performance he remembers didnt quite match up and he was dropped from the team In those days the competition was very stiff in the Bombay team On one occasion I was run out and then I was given one more chance I played but it was just too competitive I hold no grudges about being dropped Vijay Merchant and LP Jai were Bombay cricketers and they were good friends he says He was later invited to play for Baroda My grandfather was the Diwan of Baroda and the team organisers somehow found out that I was born there So they approached me In the very first match I scored over 50 68 and 53 in both inningsRaiji referencing documents in his study before the interviewAround this time Raiji moved to England for two years to study chartered accountancy Here he played a lot of club cricket representing the Indian Gymkhana often opening for his team and occasionally playing down the order I got over 1000 runs in the two seasons that I played But the club standards were quite ordinary The clubs we played with were not at par with those I had played with in IndiaOn his return Raijis parents introduced him to Panna Shah who had completed her MA thesis from Elphinstone College on Indian films they were married after a sixmonth courtshipFrom left Raiji his father Naisadrai Raiji and JRD TataSitting across Raiji Panna who despite her age has been playing warm host and replenishing biscuits and tea at the table remembers him being obsessive about the game It cricket was his life He used to eat and breathe cricket Every weekend hed go to the Cricket Club of India where he and the friends would discuss cricket There used to be a sports bookshop called The Marine Sports owned by one Theo Braganza He would go there every week to browse through the sports titles Every time Theo got a new consignment hed ring him up At one point he had over 300 books on cricket aloneIn all this where did he have the time for work My husband was a conscientious worker Panna says He was after all running one of the three top accountancy firms in Bombay at the time Raiji adds Play while you play And work while you workFrom left Raj Singh Dungarpur Madhav Mantri and Raiji during a function at Bombay Gymkhana File picBefore Ranji cricket Raiji his brother Madanmdashhe describes him as a good allroundermdashand close friends Anandji Dossa and Uday Merchant had formed a club called Jolly Cricketers in 1936 Raiji who played the Kanga League for this club led the team to glory in 1951 They shared the honours with Dadar Union Sporting Club Five years later in October 1956 while smashing a century at the Police Invitation Cricket Tournament for the Cricket Club of India he ended up breaking a stump into three pieces during a fullblooded drive I dont know how that stump broke he laughs I later requested them organisers to allow me to keep it The smashed wooden stump now finds a pride of place in a showcase in his bedroom When we attempt to touch it he admonishes us His househelp says that its a souvenir he is most protective aboutMany of the books in his collection which also boasted the Wisden Almanacks have been long given away His prized correspondence with Sir Donald Bradman his favourite cricketing hero after CK Nayudu comprising eight letters have been handed to his daughter who is based in AustraliaRaiji remembers first writing to Bradman for an autograph He was the greatest batsman in the world and I had the greatest interest in the game he says Bradman responded soon after I was actually expecting him to reply he adds That cemented a bond over a common love for the game After Raiji stopped playing professional cricket he continued his association with the game as historian He has authored over 12 cricket books in his lifetime including a biography on Nayudu whom he calls the shahenshah of Indian cricket His last book Cricket Memoirs Men amp Matches of Bygone Days that comprised a collection of his essays and articles was published by Couto in 2010Former Test cricketer Madhav Apte standing with Vasant Raiji and Nari Contractor blue shirt right during a function to celebrate 75 years of Jolly Cricketers club at the CK Nayudu Hall of the Cricket Club of India Churchgate on April 12 2011 Pic Santosh NagwekarRaiji continues to follow cricket watching matches when he can and reading sport headlines in the newspapers every morning Virat Kohli is a good batsman he says speaking sparingly of the younger lotHe is however quite upset about Test matches falling out of favour IPL has managed to attract crowds People dont have the time for Test matches A fourday Test series wont work at all There will be too many drawn matchesAs we are about to leave he rises from the sofamdashtaking his timemdashso that he can lead us to the door We ask him the secret to a long life There is no secret he says You just need to observe the rules of a good life Worry kills Smoking killsMy friend BradmanEvery time Raiji wrote a book he sent Don Bradman a copy While he doesnt have the Australian cricketers letters on him except for a copy of one he did make notes whenever Bradman had something important to share Raiji reads out Bradmans response to one of his books Indias Hambledon Men I dont know what divides the people of India into various religious groups but I do know that they are all united in the love of the gameCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates