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A memorial lunch, hosted by the Indian Journalists' Association (IJA) in honour of the late Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, one of India's most charismatic cricket captains, was held here. The lunch was attended by Pataudi's wife Sharmila Tagore and three children. "Whenever we would call him or ask him something about life, however complicated it was, he would have a wonderful one line answer and give the best advice,” Saif Ali Khan said. The heroic 70-year-old former Indian cricket captain breathed his last on September 22, 2011 after losing a battle against lung infection. Calling him an essence of grace and intelligence, former Indian cricketer, Dilip Doshi said he used to bring a sense of belief in the dressing room. Bollywood actress Kareena Kapoor was also present at the lunch, along with a host of dignitaries including Pataudi's first cousin Shahryar Mohammad Khan and his family. “The most tragic and sad moment of my life was when I was in the Pakistan High Commission as the third secretary, I learned of his accident in Brighton and not only the accident but the fact that he had probably lost the sight of one eye,” said Shahryar Mohammad Khan, also a former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan. A short film on Pataudi's cricket life was also screened for the gathering. Son of Iftikhar Ali Khan, who represented both England and India in Test cricket, Pataudi lost an eye in a car accident but still went on to become an aggressive batsman and an agile fielder. Pataudi was shoehorned into captaincy when he was barely 21 and he led in 40 tests, winning nine of them and guiding India to their first away series victory in New Zealand in 1968.

Memorial lunch in honour of Pataudi held in London