There have been numerous articles by now about Sachin – each one putting forth his own side of the story, as to why they love this “Legend”, now that he has retired from One Day internationals. I’m putting forth my side of the story here, as i see him through my eyes...
It seems just couple of years back that I saw this icon throwing Abdul Qadir for huge sixes at will – though I must admit it’s now more than 2 decades past that incident. When “Sunny” was about to retire, everyone including myself at that time maybe was frantically trying to find that “Next Gavaskar”. ‘Who after Sunny?’ was the probably the question of the Nation at that time. God had already answered that question for us; it was only a matter of time to be “enlightened” with him!! . Sachin has probably every record in his name for his batting. Sachin it’s been told, during his early cricketing days nurtured a passion for fast bowling. He underwent a Bowling camp in Chennai @ MRF Pace foundation under the watchful eyes of the “Australian Fast Bowling Menace” –aka Dennis Lillie. Dennis Lillie not so long ago claimed that the did his part in persuading the “Master Blaster” to give up dreams of becoming a bowler & instead focus on becoming every Bowler’s nightmare… and Sachin did very much oblige for almost 23 years consistently.
Everyone has a “Role Model” to look up to – He / She maybe of a very diverse field (totally unrelated to what one maybe doing in Life) but subconsciously we idolize him, worship him, adore him, admire him, follow him. Cricket never was, nor is & never will be only a “Sport” atleast in India – It’s what the people of India eat, think, talk, gossip, ridicule, debate and to some extremes even dream about Cricket– I being no exception to this unwritten rule. I watched & learned about Cricket from my father, like most other children do via Inheritance. In India, especially Mumbai (being partial here to Mumbai courtesy of a fact that if you could get in the Mumbai Team in ’70 / ’80s, doors of International Cricket were a bit easy to open in those days), one may / may not get money / property / advice in Inheritance but he does get the knowledge, know-how & basic skills / technique of Cricket from his father – It’s probably in the nature of the soil there. Cricket is one bond that compels you to play with your enemies-maybe, people you may not like, people you don’t want to see - but mostly with friends, sometimes with cousins, & in rare cases even with girls sometimes – because it’s a Team Game, so you need someone to bowl at you (if it’s your Bat then you are Batting first Rule comes into picture here), or someone to fetch that whacked ball from the boundary!!
Time & Age does not wait for anyone – as time went by I followed Sachin through numerous Tours, 2 World Cups (’92 & ‘96) and through other possible social media like every other Indian / Mumbaikar. Then came 1999 World Cup that defined in true sense what the Champion was really made up of. There is a time in everyone’s lifetime when, you are required to answer some bitter questions – there’s no escaping, there are no proxies available and there is no turning back – You just have to face it in the best possible way, you think you can / you could & ride the storm out. 1999 was in fact my life’s worst possible year both – personally (as being the only Son – I was the loved & pampered one with a perfect childhood) & academically (which otherwise was excellent till then with either a Distinction or nothing less than a First Class Grade). I had just lost my father in ’99 Mar & in May-June we had the World Cup in England. Myself, barely 20, I think it was an intense emotional battle that I was waging on for about 2+ months – blood shot eyes (as a result of not having a sound sleep for an extended period) and me failing in my engineering exams didn’t do any better – but compounded the matter from bad to worse, to the worst phase of life I’ve ever been. I had lost focus in my life & it was as if I was living for the sake of it – I still then had & do still have my Mother beside me always whenever I needed her– but I knew from inside, that I was waging a losing battle against my emotions, my thoughts, my sentiments. Self- doubt is a bit like alcohol – it clouds your thinking but still gives an impression of being absolutely fine – term we know as being “high” & I was fully drenched in it, head to toe. It was one heck of a period that sends shivers down my spine even now, when I dare look back, sometimes. I needed some miracle to help me pull out of this emotional Hell – but just didn’t know how & where to start – who to look up to, whom to approach. I was vulnerable, stupid, naïve, shaken to the core & defeated within. The answer to this was that magical innings from Sachin vs. Kenya @ Bristol on 23rd May 1999 (World Cup) that taught me what Life is all about & how to go fighting about it.
Sachin too had just lost his father, but he came back to serve his nation in their quest for the World Cup. Winning / Losing was insignificant, given the timing of his century there, considering that he had just attended his father’s funeral barely a week back. This to me was mesmerizing, nothing short of a miracle – a defining moment in my life that Sachin scripted that day. Pitch, Weather, Bounce, Opposition & many more factors were just rendered insignificant by him on that day & Kenya was at the receiving end of it. How I wish that day, the opponent should have been Australia or even Pakistan instead. I’m sure he might have ended a couple of bowlers’ career in the bargain – had it been Pakistan or might have triggered early retirement plans for Shane Warne / Glenn McGrath – had it been Australia, but it was not to be. He just disdainfully butchered each & every bowler of the opposition to almost every corner of the ground & ended up being 140* (not out) along with Rahul Dravid who also scored a century. I regard that century of his the most ruthless and daring performance ever by any cricketer, let alone in India, but neither in Cricket world over, nor in any other sport that I know or recollect of. It seemed as if he knew all the answers asked by all the bowlers collectively, at a time when he must have been battling his emotions as well. No words of compassion or for that matter nothing else in this world can replace a lost dear one. The feeling that you no longer can see the person you lost and that you just do meet him occasionally only in your dreams and by-gone sweet memories is a kind of spooky. It must have been an excruciating emotional pain to wage that battle and am sure he must be exhausted as never before – but he did not fail at all. He dedicated that century to his late father. I’m too small a person when compared to him in every sense & I rightly admit so – but that day he exhibited it what it takes to overcome your fear, emotions, abject dejection and face life with your head high, to whatever it throws at you and just do it gracefully to emerge out as a winner. He did play many more memorable innings before that and even after that, however that innings just elevated him above everyone else – be in Cricket or any other Sport for that matter.
So when he was criticized for being selfish (be it for scoring a century or delaying his retirement) – thought to myself whether it is right at all to hold him guilty? Well if you ask me, if he was selfish at all, so be it – it was still for scoring runs, winning matches for India. Why don’t we question our politicians, our bureaucrats’, cricket selectors, including ourselves, whom we know are selfish as well? He’s a human after all, & it’s alright to possess some assets of human nature in required moderation. He’s been through some lean patches in his career, so what the hell? Do we know of any person on this planet who has always been successful? Readers should pardon my knowledge about such a person or the lack of it. For I know, we all know, surely there is no such soul in flesh and bone. We fail ourselves but don’t / can’t bear Sachin failing!! That’s reaching the zenith of hypocrisy and being insanely judgmental both at the same time, despite of knowing the fact that, here’s a man who is very well equipped to handle both success and failure equally well. He just takes everything in his stride remarkably well – for which unfortunately I do not seem to find words to explain. In a country that's battling with socio-economic issues such as ever exploding population, rape, faulty education system, pathetic infrastructure, pollution, dowry deaths, farmer suicides on one side and corruption, bribery, ever increasing inflation & bureaucracy on another, this man has been bringing smiles to the "Common Man" with his deeds - both on and off the field consistently for 23 yrs. now. How the hell does he handle that pressure so well & for that long is still a question that i ask myself without having any answer till date. One cannot help admitting the fact that he's the sole reason for happiness a midst all the problems stated above.
Today, 14th Jan – happens to be my father’s birthday, as I return back to writing after a long gap of 4 years (it’s one of the things that I love doing, though I’m not consistent) - it is only befitting that I wholeheartedly thank God for associating 2 men, who made me the person I am today – my father who gave me this wonderful life and second – Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar – who exhibited, what life is all about and how to make it worth living by pursuing your passion, no matter what the conditions, no matter what the situation…
Some blessed souls are not only inspired themselves but have that uncanny ability to change many other lives as well, unknowingly. Don’t know whether to label him as ‘Godly Human’ or ‘Humanly God’. So when Life puts you in a situation, looks at you in the eye and asks: “Ok Son, tell me what you’ve got?” – Look no further than Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar & that innings he played against Kenya, you’ll get your answer, I’ve got mine ever since then & I must confess, am not doing bad at all thereafter – Well,some things in Life are just meant to be ………
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