If we are at one place for more than three or four days, the first thing I do is empty out my suitcases and put my clothes away in cupboards. It gives me a feeling of being rooted, at home.

Googlies, yorkers, brickbats, come what may, they bounce off his unflinching mien that always keeps its cool. Rahul Dravid, the willow world’s newest pin-up boy, indisputably proves that good guys finish first. SHRADDHA JAHAGIRDAR SAXENA has an early morning encounter with India’s vice captain, recent Padma Shri awardee and MTV’s youth icon of the year

On a rain-sprinkled morning, we buzz him in the well-appointed room of the South Mumbai hotel he’s staying in. A sleepy Rahul Dravid promises to be with us in a few minutes. A tall, loose-limbed figure soon makes his way down the carpeted passage to the suite we have booked. Like his matches, he’s come well prepared for this encounter –no cricketing gear this time though, only a few shirts in hand and a pair of shoes carefully packed in a box.

The Bangalore-based ‘man in blue’ is living to packed schedules. Post a satisfying tour of Pakistan earlier this year, 31-year-old Dravid briefly touched base in the garden city before zipping off for business-cum-pleasure trips to Dubai and Greece. In Mumbai for a couple of days – for the ‘ad break’ and a golf event – his waking hours are carefully segmented. As we walk down the winding stairway to the main entrance, Dravid, dashing in designer threads, halts in the shadows, ensuring anonymity before he steps out. Yet, the minute he steps on the divider, voices begin to shout, “Hello, Sir!” “Hey, Rahul, how are you?”

Back in the hotel, he dips into a bowl of cereal and fruit. “Why are you making me do all this?” he grumbles. “I am a cricketer, not an actor.” But, the gentleman that he is, he just can’t say no -- to us or to anyone. This very quality has endeared him to people who know him well. Charu Sharma, the country's leading sportscaster, who lives in the same city as Dravid, agrees, “Rahul is truly a very good human being. To me, that is far more appealing than his on-field performances. He has proved that you can be well behaved and still be a power in sport. You don’t have to be a bad boy to be a champ. Nothing about him changes.”

Constantly on the move, Dravid admits that travelling – and cricket – give him the chance of exploring new destinations. “Cricket’s given me the chance to live a life filled with excitement and success…but I miss being at home, eating with the family. Even if I enjoy different cuisines wherever I go,” he grins, “after four or five meals I long for my home-cooked dal chawal.” Living out of a suitcase too can be tedious. “It’s a challenge and after eight years I have finally got used to it," he admits. "If we are at one place for more than three or four days, the first thing I do is empty out my suitcases and put my clothes away in cupboards. It gives me a feeling of being rooted, at home.”

Home is where the heart is…and Dravid, married last year, has to often leave his wife, Dr Vijeta (Pendharkar), a general surgeon, behind while batt(l)ing it out on pitches worldwide. “It is a bit stressful for her,” he says honestly, “but she is very supportive and is getting used to my absences.”