My first meeting with Chuni (Goswami) was during a tour to the Northeast, mainly in Assam. I was invited to play for State Bank. It was a tour for promotion of the game in those parts. As far as I remember, it was in the late 60s.

I was still relatively new in the team. That was a nice tour, which all of us really enjoyed. And apart from one rather scary incident at the Kaziranga National Forest, I must say it was an enjoyable tour with Chuni being good company.

What used to strike me was his way of practising. Along with the daily exercises at the Town Club ground, where he used to train regularly, Chuni also used to race against trams at the road near Parsee Club and YMCA. He used to race with the ball too. One can only imagine the speed at which he used to run.

Let us look back at that game between the Caribbeans and the combined team of East and Central Zone (in the winter of 1966) in Indore. The Caribbean side featured the likes of Clive Lloyd, Rohan Kanhai, Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith, while Hanumant Singh led the zonal side. Chuni had taken a brilliant catch. He ran from almost mid-wicket to mid-on and held on to the catch. It truly was a stunning catch.

To me, that was an example of his commitment. He gave 100 per cent in whatever he did, be it batting, bowling or fielding. To talk of his bowling, he used to get a good bit of swing as well.

His adaptability is something that stood out. His guts and sportsman spirit helped him do well in cricket. He took up the challenge and he also had that confidence in him to deliver. To be fair to Chuni, he did have his limitations as a cricketer, but he went as high as he could.

There was no swagger about him. He never portrayed an image like ‘I am Chuni Goswami.’ He was very simple and down-to-earth along with being a tremendous team man.

I must tell you about the incident at Kaziranga. I will perhaps never forget it.

Four of us — PC Poddar, Shyamu (Shyam Sundar Mitra), Chuni and myself —had gone to Kaziranga National Park and went for an elephant ride. It was kind of swampy land. The elephant still kept moving, but all of a sudden, we came across a rhino and it seemed it would charge at us.

The elephant then took two-three steps back and the commotion was to be seen to be believed! Not that we fell off or anything, but a scared elephant going backwards resulted in turmoil.

I may be laughing now but it was harrowing then. Even Chuni looked baffled, seeing the elephant react in such a manner.