His nightmare of many months ended swiftly within a few weeks in a packed stadium, on a Saturday in February, in Visakhapatnam. Returning, in December last year, from an imposed exile from the national cricketing scene, he resurfaced with a bang first, in South Africa…and then continued his power play in the two home series against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Even he could not have dreamt of a more glorious comeback or scripted it better. For, the last match of the series that our 'Boys in Blue' played, before the World Cup, saw the 34-year-old 'Prince of Kolkata' being crowned 'Man of the Series'. No wonder then that the Sunday headlines said it all: 'The Bengal Tiger Roars Again…' 'The Miracle Called Sourav....'

So, Monday morning, just a day after the members of the team returned to their homes for a refreshing break, I find myself boarding an early morning Kingfisher flight from Mumbai to Kolkata to meet Sourav Chandidas Ganguly in his citadel. For a long time - almost since 2005 when the cards had begun to be heavily stacked against him - the swashbuckler had evaded all overtures from the press, preferring to recoup quietly in the wings. Finally, late last month, the erstwhile captain and current member of the Indian squad - who'd kept his hand in the game by playing in domestic and county cricket - decided it was the right moment to speak out and be counted.

And, so it is that I am air dashing to the capital of Bengal - fretting anxiously as photographer, Colston Julian, is hustled on to the flight just in the nick of time. At the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport, our vehicle awaits us…. I ask Deen Dayal Singh, our driver for the day, if he is 100 per cent sure where Ganguly's house is; giving me an amused glance in his rear-view mirror, he assures me quickly, "You cannot live in Kolkata and not know where Dada stays," before speeding out of the airport.

A series of thoughts run through my mind as we get closer to our destination. Have the glorious uncertainties of cricket mellowed the man often referred to by the Australian press as 'Lord Snooty'? Reportedly one of the few players in the history of modern Indian sport with the temerity, ambition and stature to take on the colonial rulers at their own mind game of arrogance, aggression and indifference - what is Dada like, away from the pressures of the pitch and the limelight?

"I am a simple person at home...."
In response to my message that we are outside the closed gates, he urges us to drive in. The darwan swings them open and our taxi slides to a halt right in front of his swanky, red convertible. A narrow pathway leads to a big ground floor room, that his Man Friday, Santosh Singh, shows us into. Photographs, trophies, memorabilia…there is ample evidence of his prowess at different stadiums across the globe. At the appointed hour, the door opens and he walks in quietly…. Clad in a saffron kurta and white churidar, he is the spiffy image of the archetypal Bengali bhadralok. "This is what I am like when I am at home," he smiles, shaking hands and settling down on the curved sofa, while calling for some chai, mithai and snacks....

Obviously congratulations are in order, on his return to form and to the team. Metaphorically brushing the controversy of the last year and a half under the carpet, he emphasises that he will not talk about coach, Greg Chappell and the much-publicised spat that culminated in his being sidelined for months: "I do not worry too much about things once I walk off the field. I try to look at the positives and find a way to go ahead…. Things often happen that are beyond your control. I have developed a mindset where I don't try to control what I cannot. I would be the first person to admit that I have made a mistake, but if I have not, then I do not let it bother me."

"I take the lows with the highs...."
It was a philosophy that he adhered to quite strictly, when he and his career seemed to have got stonewalled in testing times - he was unseated from the captaincy, ejected from the team and pilloried in the press. "Being a Bengali in Bengal, emotions were bound to run high," he flashbacks, commenting on the volatile reactions that had sparked off in the state. "There were many stories going around at that time. I did not speak out because it would have only added more fuel to the fire."

Denying that he was completely shunned by those who knew him - his teammates like 'Irfan, Yuvraj, Sehwag and Sachin' kept in touch with him right through, he confesses though: "When you are not successful, some people have a different attitude and outlook…. I do not take notice of people who change with the times and stay away from such friends. From my past performances and successes I know that all days cannot be rosy. There are some lean patches in every player's career, but that does not mean that I lock myself in and brood."