Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi popularly called Tiger Pataudi is still remembered as one India’s most celebrated cricketers and the former captain of the Indian cricket team. He married Sharmila Tagore and had three children, Saba Ali Pataudi, Saif Ali Khan and Soha Ali Khan. In a recent interview, Saba has opened up on her legacy and the teachings from her father. She also spoke about her responsibilities in Bhopal and the trust associated with her family’s heritage.Talking about her bond with her father, Saba described him as someone she continues to turn to spiritually, even after his passing. She recalled how he guided her in understanding her responsibilities and taught her the importance of fairness, composure and choosing her words carefully.“He was my ‘go-to’. Spiritually, I talk to him in my own way. He was my everything. He taught me what I needed to know, in terms of Bhopal and the work I do. He left me that legacy to take forward. My mother told me that take the best from both of us. In an interview she said, ‘Saif is like me and Soha is like Tiger but Saba has a bit of both of us’. But with him, I imbibed qualities of being fair, being just, being proper. He said that don’t lose your cool. You’re only losing your own temper, it doesn’t make any sense. Keeping your cool and being precise, I can verbalise what I need to say but I won’t shout and scream. I don’t need to. Being careful with words, I learnt from him.”When asked whether the legacy she had inherited from her father was worth over Rs 1,000 crore, Saba spoke about the family’s responsibilities in Bhopal and its association with the Rubaths in Makkah and Medina. The Rubaths are facilities associated with providing accommodation and support to pilgrims travelling for Hajj.“Yes, the Bhopal it’s in fact is responsible for Makkah and Medina as well. The Rubaths, which means that when the hajis go for hajj from Bhopal and taking care of their stay and so we acquire buildings and we have to kind of, in Bhopal itself I’m also responsible for only the monuments that come under the Aukaf-e-Shahi which is the trust fund that my father and grandmother had.”She further explained that her responsibilities include overseeing the upkeep of mosques and other buildings that fall under the Aukaf-e-Shahi trust, along with managing the logistical aspects associated with their maintenance.She added, “So the mosques and any buildings under their trust is what I take care of in the upkeep and you know things like logistically in that regard. It does involve a lot of money but money that does not come back to India or does not get personally used at all to clarify. It’s a charity organisation which is run by Saudi, independently but we are affiliated and so it’s a very, mashallah I would say, a prestigious position to be in which is a legacy that of course he thought I was more equipped and had the time and also very Islamic in my way that he thought would suit me to take it forward and take care of.”Tiger Pataudi passed away on September 22, 2011, at the age of 70, following a lung infection.
