#1. When a young Rahul Dravid fan, suffering from Cancer, expressed his desire to speak to Rahul; Rahul made sure his wish was fulfilled. He Skype’d with him for almost an hour.
An anonymous user shared how their friend was suffering from Cancer and how much of a cricket fan he was. When he expressed his desire to speak with Rahul Dravid, the user and other friends decided to try and contact Rahul Dravid. They somehow managed to find an email address.
As it turns out, Rahul Dravid checks his emails. And he checks them regularly. When came across this particular email, he had his wife contact them and arrange a Skype call.
Dravid went on to Skype with the fan for almost an hour and also apologised for not being able to be there personally. Here is a video from their conversation.
#2. Just before Rahul Dravid was to receive the Arjuna Award in 1998, this happened.
#3. Rahul Dravid is that star who almost always finds the time to pick up his kids from school.
Despite being an international sports star and thus, a very busy person, Rahul Dravid almost always finds time to pick up his kids from school.
In an open letter to Rahul Dravid, one Mrs. Srividya Ram, whose kids go to the same school as Dravid’s, points out how she was amused when she first saw Rahul Dravid waiting for his kids to come out of the school. Looking shy and trying to hide behind his car to ensure nobody noticed his attention, Mrs. Ram writes how, despite being such a busy person, Rahul Dravid was always there on time, even though she sometimes got caught up in work and got delayed! Given Mrs. Ram’s husband’s fascination with cricket, she also thanks Dravid because her spouse volunteered to pick up kids from school in order to catch glimpses of Dravid!
This was confirmed by an answer by Arya Yuyutsu who works at Cricinfo and has had the opportunity to work with Rahul Dravid on several occassions recently.
He writes: “Recently we needed to do a series preview with him in our studios in central Bangalore. As ever, he agreed to come in and we asked him for an hour. He asked if 11am to noon was alright. Most ‘celebs’ come in in the afternoon since the morning is always too early (unless it’s match related stuff, of course). I asked him why he’d chosen this early time, complaining playfully that it was before my shift and he just wanted me to wake up early. He laughed and said “Actually it’s my kids man. I like picking them up. So the younger one gets done at 1 and the older one gets done later on. So I like picking them both up whenever I’m in town and spend some time with them.””
#4. Rahul Dravid is that celebrity who goes to the gas company by himself if he wants a new connection.
Quora user Rahul Bhaskar explains how one fine day, in 2005, he was at the gas company’s office and he saw Rahul Dravid and his wife walk out of their Hyundai Santro to get a gas connection. Obviously, the owner of the company was embarrassed and said he could have sent someone to Dravid’s place for the formalities, but this was Rahul Dravid, the aam aadmi celebrity. Dravid obliged people in the office with some pictures and autographs, and left.
#5. “Rahul can make do with just two pair of clothes during an entire tour.” – Wife Vijeeta Dravid.
“If I packed only two sets of informal clothes, he would rotate them through an entire tour if he had to and not think about it. He doesn’t care for gadgets, and barely registers brands – of cologne or cars. But if the weight of his bat was off by a gram, he would notice it in an instant and get the problem fixed.”
#6. Rahul Dravid is that guy who also helps his mother serve food when they have guests over.
Sometime in the 1999-2000, Quora user Tejus had the chance to meet Rahul Dravid at Dravid’s father’s place in Bangalore. Rahul Dravid was already playing international cricket by this time, but as humble as he is, he helped his mother serve food to the guests as there were no other helpers. Oh, and he used to drive a modest Maruti 800.
#7. This.
#8. Rahul Dravid is so humble he smiles first at strangers, even if they don’t smile back!!!
An answerer writes how once he was waiting for his flight when a man in front of him, with a huge book, gave him a smile. The answerer ignored him, went back to fiddle with his phone until a stranger next to him asked: “IS THAT RAHUL DRAVID IN FRONT OF US?” Even though the answerer did not smile back, Rahul Dravid was polite enough to take a picture with him and exchange a few words!
#9. Rahul Dravid prefers not talking during a game because he likes to learn from everyone who’s playing. Even if it is a local, low-profile, club game.
#10. Rahul Dravid likes to play cricket. He doesn’t mind a lowly ground, or a low-profile team, and despite being a superstar, he doesn’t mind fielding for 82 overs straight in a local game.
An account by a former junior state-level cricketer on Wisden India elaborates the writer’s experience of playing with Dravid in a local match. While the account in itself is too long to be pasted here, and can be read here, it stresses on the genuineness of the man that Rahul Dravid is. First, he plays a local club match despite having 13,000+ test runs and 200+ catches. That, at a ground that has no signs of grass, is all muddy, and is equipped with no parking and dirty toilets. Second, unlike other high profile players, he does not ask for the services of the 12th man and fields throughout the innings, for 82 overs straight.
He also stands at the slip, and is the official ball shiner of the team, ensuring the shine of the ball is maintained for as long as possible, making his pants all red in the process. He encourages the players, asks them if they want water, motivates them, he also drops a catch, but ensures his team’s young players don’t get too aggressive against the opponents.
He then scores a 100. He also gets mad at the umpires for missing out on no-balls. In a club match. He also offers his bat to the fielders to search the ball when he hit a boundary, because the ball went into the bushes and Rahul was concerned that the bushes may have snakes.
He gives away his bat and gloves at the end of the match, eats and drinks water with the team, just like any other local club cricketer.
The word “Respect” does not even begin to describe the kind of feeling that Rahul Dravid’s actions instill.
#11. Rahul Dravid does not mind giving umpteen autographs at a go, but he also does not want it to happen at the cost of others’ inconvenience.
Puneet Tripathi writes about his colleague’s encounter with Rahul Dravid in a flight. First up, Dravid was flying in Economy class. Second, when people noticed Rahul Dravid in the plane, they started asking for autographs and pictures. While Dravid was happy to oblige, he politely asked everyone to move to an empty area so they did not block the aisle for others to walk in the plane.
#12. Rahul Dravid is that man who walks to the counter in a restaurant, without waiting for the waiters to come to him, orders the food & gets done with it.
Khushboo Rajput shares an incident when she saw Rahul Dravid at a posh restaurant. They saw Rahul Dravid with his family there, who walked up the counter, ordered the food, no fuss, no trouble to the poor waiters. They had their food, and left, gracefully.
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