Game, Set and Match, Mr Amritraj!

What a charming man! Six foot four, towering over most, no ALL, of the women at the IWA meeting arranged a few days ago for Vijay Amritraj, ex-tennis champ, to talk openly about anything that he fancied!

He started off with saying that it was any man's dream come true to be the only man in a room with so many many women! after the snickering died away, he went on to say how difficult the 'open' chatting would be as most of the older ladies in the audience knew his parents before he and his brother were born, many of the rest have known him since childhood! His Aunt was also in the audience and he sounded pleasantly surprised that she took time to come and listen.

I have to say - I was not expecting such a lucid, sometimes funny, humble man to talk so genuinely about his struggles, about the way Indian fans treated him when he lost a really important match (and made him cry!), about travelling abroad for the first time and encountering racial prejudice, about his charitable foundation and work, and finally about his mother and his family.

He answered questions patiently and then I asked him for an autograph for Nikh - he signed with a flourish and some polite questions about him. As I turned to go, I saw him bend almost in half to hug an old, old lady who had approached him. As he hugged her tight, I heard him say in the most humble and respectful manner, "wow, Auntie, you still look fantastic!" He made her day.
He made me think what an incredibly nice guy!

Game, set and match to him!!