S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath

About: S. Giridhar and V. J. Raghunath are colleagues at the Azim Premji Foundation, Bengaluru. S. Giridhar is the COO of Azim Premji University. One of the earliest members of Azim Premji Foundation, Giridhar joined the Foundation eighteen years ago after over two decades in business management roles. V. J. Raghunath is a retired chemical engineer who now consults with Azim Premji Foundation. He was a very stylish left-handed batsman and a fearless close-in fielder who thrilled his coaches in school. He was awarded the A. F. Wensley prize for the most promising schoolboy cricketer for three years running. He led the Madras Colts team to Bombay in 1968 and played first-division league with the best cricketers of Madras and Bombay in his twenties. Theirs is a friendship that began in 1984 when they worked at Carborundum Universal’s factory at Chennai and played city cricket tournaments together. Raghunath, was a left-handed batter and a fearless close catcher who rubbed shoulders with some of India’s best cricketers of the 1960s and ’70s in the first division leagues of Chennai and Mumbai. Giridhar, bowled leg spin and was also an agile close catcher, though he did not play at the same level. Apart from Mid-wicket Tales, they have also jointly written From Mumbai to Durban: India’s Greatest Tests (2016). Giridhar, has also done a detailed study of government schoolteachers for a very moving and inspiring book, Ordinary People, Extraordinary Teachers: The Heroes of Real India.