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You made no contributions to his party?

No way.

Did you make contributions to any political party?

No. Not at all.

You didn't pay Bill Clinton his fees when he came here?

No, I heard of it. But I never got involved in any such thing. I have many friends. Why are you talking of one or two. Many people from politics, films, sports, journalism, the corporate world. Relations are based on emotions; they have nothing to do with the commercial aspect.

What made you buy such an expensive sponsorship of the Indian cricket team? Was it emotion or was it business?

It was purely emotion. We had declined (the sponsorship) initially because the cost was very high. But then it went to some MNC. When I learnt it had gone to an MNC, I didn't like it. Cricket is an emotional thing for the country. So we decided to go for the sponsorship and paid extra, more than the MNC had decided to pay, and we took the sponsorship.

Are you getting value for money?

I don't know. Probably yes, but it's very difficult to say. It's very difficult to quantify that.

After the World Cup (debacle), did you regret taking up the sponsorship?

Yes, but not as a sponsor but as a citizen of the country. Also as a fan.

As a sponsor did you pick up the phone and tell Mr Sharad Pawar what was happening? That the team doesn't even have a coach.

A very senior man whom I don't want to name said, 'Why don't you pay them in paise and rupees for bowling and batting!' The way they did in the World Cup left everyone upset.

What's your view on the challenge to the BCCI from the Indian Cricket League? I believe Mr Subhash Chandra (who's backing ICL) is a friend of yours.

Yes, he's coming out with ICL. Kapil Devji, who's also on our board of directors, is with him. I think anything happening for cricket is happening for its good. It (ICL) should be good for cricket. You see, once Kerry Packer started something in Australia. There was controversy, but ultimately it became such a good thing for cricket. I hope ICL brings about some good for cricket.

BCCI thinks the setting up of ICL is a subversive act. In fact, they are threatening a life ban on anybody who plays in ICL.

I think the board will definitely do that. I haven't gone much into the details, so I can't talk beyond this. But I spoke to Kapil Devji the other day and from the way he described it, I feel it will ultimately be good for cricket.

And if you had your way, will you back it?

If we can support it for the good of cricket, we'll do that.

So Sahara could be the sponsor of the national cricket team for two and a half more years and then a sponsor for ICL?

That may happen in the future. I'm not ruling it out.

You're saying both should carry on.

Both should carry on. That's very important. I'm not trying to say that something new shouldn't come up or that BCCI shouldn't be there. No. Both should exist in parallel.

What's your advice to Mr Sharad Pawar? How should he handle it?

He should concentrate on his own association, the national federation, the BCCI and the way it is going.

Instead of fighting ICL? Why do you say 'the way it's going'? Are there problems there?

No. There's no problem as such. Not to my knowledge.

Whether it's cricket, the corporate world, or film stars, their big strength is networking. You don't just become friends with Sourav Ganguly or Leander Paes or Aishwarya Rai, you actually bring them on your board of directors. I think there are two Parivars in this country that matter most: the Sangh Parivar and the Sahara Parivar. What's this peculiar approach to people?

Well, as I said, I always feel very comfortable in the association of people who're achievers, whatever their field. The names you mentioned from our board, these people are all big achievers. There are many other achievers, but we obviously cannot accommodate everybody.

But there are questions about how much they contribute in terms of corporate decision-making or corporate governance.

We have a Kartavya Council, at which anyone can take up problems they are having with us anywhere in the country. The board members (are part of it) and act like ombudsmen. It's difficult, though, to bring them all together.

Yeah, bringing together Aishwarya Rai, Sourav Ganguly, Leander Paes, Kapil Dev, and a superstar like you!

(Laughs) No, no, I'm just a worker.

You call yourself a managing worker, you have a new set of designations for your employees, you have your own way of greeting people in your company, Sahara Pranam. And I believe that if the anchor forgets to say this, he's fired.

Yes, it is true.

Tell us a bit about it. From where does it develop? You have parades, you have uniforms.

Actually, I was very active in the NCC. I attended all the camps, took part in all the activities. And I've learnt a lot from the NCC. I learnt the definition of discipline from the NCC. The enthusiastic obedience of laws and orders given by . . .

This is the first time I've heard someone talking so glowingly of the NCC. In my days in college, the NCC was a way of getting two free bananas, one samosa, and two biscuits. And you had a two-rupee allowance.