Come summer and the well-heeled glitterati of India descends on London. While film stars like Kajol or Shah Rukh Khan can be spotted in stores like Harvey Nichols, Harrods or Selfridges, sportstars throng The Ivy or such classy restaurants. And why not, the London summer is fun, much better than cities like New York. London also has the additional charm of international cricket and Wimbledon at this time of year. Apart from the love of sports, most want to be seen at the Royal Box, on the Centre Court in Wimbledon and at Lords.
The last two years have been a different story, thanks to COVID-19, but otherwise, tennis doyen Vijay Amritraj has been a regular in London during Wimbledon, and one would often bump into him at the Taj hotel at Buckingham Gate. An evening reception in honour of Amritraj was an annual event for us at the hotel, with former cricketers like Faroukh Engineer and Sunil Gavaskar often attending the evening. Amritraj has also remained busy being interviewed by scribes like us, giving his expert comments on the Championship.