The article was first published on Aman ki Asha.

I guess every game has a Tiger of its own. Some found in the woods, some on the golf course. And then there's the royal Tiger of cricket.

It is January 5, 1952. A little boy and only son of his parents, is all excited about celebrating his 11th birthday party later that evening, when his sister tells him that their father has had a heart attack while playing polo and has died. Now, at that tender age, not only is he responsible for his family's fate being the sole male member, he is also responsible for the welfare of 15,000 people of the State of Pataudi. He is the new Nawab.

The boy, Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, was lovingly called Tiger at home because, as an infant even when he had learned to walk, he often preferred to crawl. Little did he know then that he would end up carrying that name for the rest of his life, for reasons that destiny was to unfold.

He was sent to school in England, while his family remained in India. Several close relatives including his paternal uncle General Sher Ali Khan and his family, including Liaquat Ali Khan (later Prime Minister of Pakistan) and others had opted to cross the new border into Pakistan. In 1961, Pataudi was preparing to return home after college. By this time his prowess at batting at Oxford and Sussex had already been established and some people were talking of his possible selection in the Indian Test team, despite his young age.

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Siraj Khan is a Boston-based world citizen who lives a life without boundaries. He is a cricket lover and connoisseur of film music.

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