Pool Player's Cribs

Q-Tip Magazine has the privilege of being invited into the homes of the great and good in the world of pool, and getting exclusive access to the stars on their own turf. From stunning mountainside villas, to majestic country estates, the superstars of pool certainly know how to live in luxury. In this month's edition of Pool Player's Cribs our reporters get the guided tour of the converted Gurdwara that Jagjit Dusanjh calls home.

Dusanjh is probably best known as the man who lost the famed umbrella match to Adam Russell, but during a long and storied career, the man known to some as 'Bad Ass' Jag captivated millions with his antics, and his infamy certainly helped to pay for this beautiful home, which he shares with his wife and daughter. As we arrive at Chez Dusanjh, we are greeted by Jagjit himself, who is quick to point out the two bronze panthers which guard his property. 'Wedding gifts' he says with a smile, as he leads us into his home.

The first room we enter is the living room, spacious yet homely. On the wall are a number of souvenirs from his pool playing days, including a framed copy of Q-Tip Magazine, on which his face adorned the cover. 'This is where my family and I like to relax. It's good for me to have these reminders of my career around me. It helps me to remember what payed for the beautiful furniture we sit on, the food we eat, the tigers we breed'. Walking through the corridors to our next room we ask Jagjit to reflect on his favourite memory from his career. 'I was lucky enough to team for a while with my cousin, Gurjit- one of the best pool players in the world. That was a fun time. We even managed to win a match.' Crazy times.

The next room we're shown into is the dining room. The centre-piece of the room is an eighteen foot dinner table, 'for entertaining', as Jagjit explains. Dusanjh is known for his elaborate themed dinner parties, and we encourage him to regale us with an anecdote. 'I had a reunion party, for all of my old pool buddies. The theme was Sikh deities. Anyway, myself, Dan Clearup, Martin Kirkley and Butch Dingle were enjoying a pleasant game of scrabble with a glass of wine when Konrad Nowacki burst in. He'd clearly overdone it on the wine, as he was stark naked, apart from a turban, and proceeded to wave his penis in Paul McFarlane's face'. Jagjit bursts into laughter as he remembers the scene. 'Every night was a party in those days'.

As we enter the master bedroom, Jagjit tells us an interesting fact about the house. 'This house used to be the actual Gurdwara where I got married'. As he shows us the wedding photos displayed proudly on the walls we notice a few familiar faces. 'Yes,' he says, 'Adam Russell, Darren Hibbert and Martin Kirkley all came to my wedding. And for a reasonable fee'. The bed, he tells us, is made from elephant tusks, elephants he killed himself.

The next room we enter, strangely enough, is completely empty. Jagjit bows his head in sadness. We probe him for an explanation and finally he admits to us that this used to be the umbrella room. 'I had a collection of over 12,000 umbrellas at one time,' he says. 'Umbrellas from all over the world. I even had the umbrella that Gene Kelly dances with in Singin' In The Rain. But after losing the umbrella match with Adam (Russell) I couldn't bear looking at them anymore. I gave them all away.' Apparently, Jagjit also had a collection of over 900 rests, which he also gave away after losing a rest match to Adam Russell. After that rest match, Dusanjh wept a single tear on live television. 'I wasn't crying because I lost,' he protests. 'That day happened to be the anniversary of Gert Frobe's (the man who played Goldfinger) death. It was a sad day indeed.'

We complete our tour in the prayer room, where we find Jagjit's wife. It is at this time that we ask Jagjit about the different doubles partners he's had; Andrej Kaminskyj in The Foreign Fanatics, Gurjit Sanghera in The New Age Inlaws, and 'No Shit' Martin Kirkley in The Rebellion, during which time he was known as 'Fuck That' Jagjit Dusanjh. 'I don't think The Rebellion were really given a chance,' he whispers, so as not to disturb his wife. 'We could have been great'. He goes on to tell us that despite all his partners, he'll always consider himself simply a member of The Sanghera Family.

Jagjit shows us out as we thank him for his hospitality. He is certainly a man who likes luxury, be it the soft touch of his hand-woven satin bedspread, or the cold hard carcass of one of the dead African rhinos he has hunted to near-extinction, but on this tour we feel like we have gone beyond the man who so famously wiped his feet on the English flag at Poolamania, and found a loving family man, and generous host.