The team bus parks at a busy square in McLeod Ganj and the narrow commercial market street bustles with excitement at the sight of Adam G and company taking a casual stroll as they cover the last couple of hundred meters towards the Dalai Lama residence. Few are fortunate enough to get this opportunity and everyone’s excited about how it will be to meet in person the cheerful and friendly looking monk who we have only admired on television till today.

We walk in through a short flight of stairs to a large verandah shaded completely by a grand giant white canvas canopy flanked on one side by a yellow two storeyed building. Leaning from the building is a file of monks of varying age, all peering keenly at us and definitely knowledgeable about who we are. On the ground floor is a platform where the stage is set for the Dalai Lama to sit and address us.

We take our seats under the canopy and are joined by other KXIP employees, some with families. I also spot others working for the IPL currently putting the show together in Dharamsala. Some of the playing team is here with family too. David Bomber Hussey is with his wife and baby, born just in time for this IPL season. Vikram Rathore is there with wife and two fascinating kids while David Miller’s parents have flown in from South Africa.

McLeod Ganj or Dhasa as many Tibetans call the place (short for Dharamsala, McLeod Ganj is sort of Upper Dharamsala), is named after Sir Donald McLeod, the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab in the 1870s. He is remembered as the founder of the Punjab University and in 1872 was one of the early casualties of the London Underground. Dharamsala was established around 170 years ago as a cantonment and McLeod Ganj developed as a settlement soon enough. In the early part of the last century a massive earthquake set the region back and Dharamsala was largely forgotten by most other than the 1^st Gorkha Rifles who are housed here. However, in 1959, events in Tibet forced the Dalai Lama to flee to India and he found asylum in McLeod Ganj. Today over 50 years after that event, His Holiness, now traveling frequently across the globe despite his advanced years, is fortunately in town in McLeod Ganj where we all eagerly await his appearance.

And just like that we see him walking in from behind us with a convoy of followers, monks, local Indian disciples and security. He passes through the aisle offering his hand to as many as can possibly reach out and I let the camera hang to extend my own and he offers me a light shake with a benign smile.

On stage he tells us that he has just returned from New York before we maul RCB but felt too tired to attend that game. He promises to try his best to be there for our last league game against the Chargers. He jokes about his lack of knowledge of cricket and sports in general. The conversation meanders towards how significant India is for him and his admiration for her great ancient universities and his love of the local cuisine. India’s role as a nation that has always propagated peace strikes him as significant. He answers questions of every nature and then offers himself up for group pictures with each and every one. Big names from the world of cricket scramble to be closest to him to capture this memory, for once being the adoring fans rather than the celebrities. The Dalai Lama makes conversation while the photo session is on and everyone is captive to his words and forget to look at the cameras.

He departs for other engagements and as we dissolve into small groups to explore McLeod Ganj, we look back at the fifteen minutes that we will never forget. The memory is still vivid of his calm and soft speech laced with humor. He laughs at little jokes he makes at his own expense and captures our attention with ease. The moment is not overtly spiritual or life changing but it is definitely there to stay. In a short span he transforms our awe into comfort and genuine love. What remains unchanged is our admiration.