Is it possible to recreate the journey of a man who lived a life that defied the boundaries of conventional existence? A man whose extraordinary achievements have spilled into folklore and whose actions jolted the conscience of a cricket world that prefers to live in hubris. These questions seized my mind on the day Bishan Singh Bedi would have added one more year to his life.His 80th birth anniversary was celebrated by his family, friends and the cricketing fraternity with the release of a book compiled by his loving, devoted wife Anju Bedi in Delhi last month.The book is a tribute from the family and some of the world’s cricketing stalwarts to Bedi’s skill, craft, achievements and a kind heart hidden behind a frank, blunt and, at times, brutal tongue. Its release on the day of his birthday, September 24, became an occasion to marvel at the “character” who mesmerised the world with his ingenuity and confronted it with his fearlessness.The venue was overflowing with people who listened to stories of his generosity, uprightness and uncompromising duels with a cricket administration obsessed with self-promotion.While the world remembered and listened, my mind struggled with questions that I have wrestled with ever since I attempted, but gave up midway, to write authorised biographies — the first of Tiger Pataudi in 2002 and then of Sourav Ganguly, towards the end of his chequered career around 2006-2007.Is it possible to reimagine and portray in words a life in all its complexities, especially of sporting stars, seen as role models for young generations to follow? My laziness in doing the hard work for researching material did come in the way of my enthusiasm. But there was something more that ultimately led to my shelving these projects. Did I have the acumen, the wisdom and the capacity to piece together a life destined for greatness, yet as human and vulnerable as any one of us to the temptations the world has to offer?As I listened to and recorded Tiger’s tales from the past and Ganguly’s phenomenal cricketing progress, I felt overwhelmed by the responsibility I was placing on myself. When the protagonists were willing collaborators in the project, was it possible for me to construct a life in all its shades of black, white and grey? I seemed incapable of chronicling their undoubted greatness without judging their many controversial actions, and the books were never completed.One more opportunity came my way in 2022. Fate was tempting me this time to be the authorised biographer of the man I have admired a lot. Bedi’s wife Anju was keen that the book be done and I had several meetings with them before illness took over Bedi.Of all the sporting figures I have watched up close, while seeing them play or interacting off the field, Bedi has to be the most unique of them all. He could be a child with a golden innocent heart, willing to bare all his goodness upon you if he took a liking for you. If he felt you were up to some mischief and not aligned with his worldview that valued integrity and honest action, he could be a foe to be feared and avoided.I had seen the spinning wizard live in action twice, bemusing and foxing batsmen with his guile and loop. The world that went lyrical while describing his fluid action was also one that acknowledged his temper and courage to take on the establishment, no matter what the cost. It was the second Bedi I watched, observed and admired when he became the coach of the Punjab Ranji team in the early Nineties. The many “high spirited” nights spent in between Punjab’s Ranji games, listening to his stories, embellished with humour of the great as well as low moments of his career, were shaping my understanding of Indian cricket’s history.Kapil Dev, in his tribute at the book release, called him a “half white man”, someone who all his life lived the gospel of cricket being a gentleman’s game, whose inner core lay in being truthful and honest. He fought innumerable battles against those in power with courage and stubbornness, unlike most Indian sportsmen who are too scared to rock the status quo and prefer to remain on the right side of the establishment.Unlike the finesse, grace and fluid movements that were the hallmark of his bowling art, his administrative battles were fiery and direct. He did not believe in half measures, be it in confronting his opponents, living life king-size or hitting the bottle.His son Angad, in a moving and wholesome tribute, did not shy away from addressing these issues. He said his father lived in “extremes” that “gave him a lot of happiness… but a lot of sorrow. It also gave a lot of anger”. The remarkable aspect of Bedi’s life is that despite the extremes, his larger-than-life persona touched the lives of millions who watched him play, and all those he knew and interacted with.Just as Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’ depicts truth in its various shades and meanings, depending on the perspective from which an event is viewed, Bedi’s life too expands our understanding of truth and its multidimensional meanings. A definitive biography of the man who meant many things to many people, graced the cricket field with disarming honesty and off it lived a life with all its complexities, is yet to be written.— The writer is the author of ‘Not Quite Cricket’ and ‘Not Just Cricket’