After the hectic happenings of the awards ceremony at Wembley, with its Oscar-like tension and tearful acceptance speeches, the Wisden Indian Cricketer of the Year gala dinner at Lord's last night was an altogether gentler affair. Wherever you looked, there was an Indian legend, or possibly two. For once, the bloke that looked a bit like Dilip Vengsarkar actually was Vengsarkar, or the "Lord of Lord's" as he was unofficially dubbed after three hundreds in successive Tests there. Well-heeled autograph hunters scuttled between tables, barely able to contain their excitement as Viswanath dutifully signed in under Gavaskar, and Wadekar chose a new page.

One star-studded table included Kapil Dev, the newly crowned and emotional Indian Cricketer of the Century, and Bishan Bedi, his first Test captain, instantly recognisable as ever in a bright turban. On the next table sat Dilip Doshi, another subtle left-arm spinner, who was kept out of the Indian side for ages by Bedi. But Doshi wasn't to be outshone this time: he scooped three of the raffle prizes.

In a far corner sat Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, the great legspinner, still in pain after his legs were smashed in a scooter accident some years ago. But he was there, one of many ex-players almost overcome with emotion at seeing so many former colleagues. Back-slapping was at an alltime high: the odd tear can't be denied.

An early favourite of mine ambled into view. The Nawab of Pataudi. Or Mansur Ali Khan. Or just Tiger. The one-eyed prince in a game where the two-eyed man is king, he still scored nearly 3000 runs, and a Test double-century, after a car accident cost him an eye. Now he was talking, specs perched precariously on the tip of his patrician nose as if auditioning for the role of Mr Chips. Does he still play cricket? "No, I haven't played since 1975, really. Not since my last Test match. There didn't seem much point after that ..."

It wasn't a night for long speeches, but there was a brief one from Raj Singh, the former Indian chairman of selectors. He pressed all the right buttons - except one, when his support of Mohammad Azharuddin (one ex-legend who wasn't there) caused a certain amount of navel-gazing and just a smattering of polite applause. But he raised a much heartier cheer when he introduced his neighbour, Mushtaq Ali, still going strong at 87. Back in 1936 Mushtaq scored India's first Test century in England, at Old Trafford.

The average Lord's dinner rather relies on the splendour of the surroundings to deflect attention from the rubbery chicken and limpish veg. But this time there was a celebrity chef - Steven Saunders of Organica - and the all-organic menu was distinctly Indian in flavour. Mango rice pudding followed Poona pancake and lemon chicken with Goan mushrooms, all served on distinctive square plates.

There was another probable first, too. The Long Room has contained the odd Rest of the World team before, but never knowingly a Miss World. Diana Hayden, the 1997 Miss World winner from India, had co-hosted the awards with Mark Nicholas (bets were taken in the audience over whose hair took longer to coiffe). Now she sashayed over to her table, followed by the eyes of hundreds of men, and several in MCC's paintings too. Approving nods turned to sniffy stares when it was realised that she was being escorted by her current beau, Usman Afzaal of Notts and England.

There were legends from other countries as well - Viv Richards, who had presented the big prize to Kapil earlier, Clive Lloyd, Ted Dexter, Mike Gatting, Andy Flower. But this was the night that Bollywood came to St John's Wood.

Steven Lynch is database director of Wisden.com.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd