they will grow up on stories of the little master, of how he represented a sport, a nation, a generation...
As most Indians born in the early 1980’s, I
grew up with Cricket. Probably because India won the world cup in 1983, and
where better to win it that at Lord’s, at the mecca of cricket. We beat our
previous rulers at their game on their ground (okay technically we beat the
West Indians, but metaphorically). This was a big win, another piece of the
colonial shackles was broken, a step away from inferiority from the ‘west’ was
taken when Kapil Dev raised that cup on 25th June 1983.
My first memory of Sachin is from 1993,
back then team India wore a dark blue jersey. It was the last over of the Hero
Cup at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata (called Calcutta back then). Nope, not his
mesmerizing batting, but this time it was his effective bowling. South Africa
needed 6 to win in the last over, long chat between Kapil, Azhar & Sachin;
the field is reshuffled, Nation sticking to the TV screen, Sachin bowls India
to victory, Eden erupts. Of course I remember the win, but what impacted me the
most, was the calmness on this 20 year old face, every ball it was business as
usual. A professional to the core that is what Sachin Tendulkar was throughout
his career.
Next memories are from the world cup in
1996, the little master had earned global respect. Opposition focused so much
on getting him out they forgot about the rest of the 10, sadly this was not
just with oppositions but also with Indian crowds. All we wanted to do was
watch Tendulkar bat, honestly speaking we still do! His century led to
festivals in streets, if got out short of a 100 the national happiness index
sunk to rock bottom.
Speaking of sad moments I am reminded of one,
again at the Edens 1999, remember it as if it was yesterday, a cold February
morning in Delhi, we all were watching the match in our school Principles
office, in fact he invited us to watch it. ( Mr Arun Kapoor, is one of the finest
human being I know). Shoaib Akhtar was bowling fast and furiously, a toe
breaking Yorker which got the leg stump technically perfect Rahul Dravid cartwheeling
to Moin Khan, was followed by a roar, as Sachin walked on to the pitch. We were
all smiles our tried and tested national hero was out there. But as life,
cricket is also a leveler, Akhtar bowled a beauty a 90 miles inswinging yorker which uprooted the middle stump. We
were stunned, Eden experienced pin drop silence, Akthar became a sensation in
the cricketing world
90’s were truly the dark ages for modern India,
our politics had begun to lose ideology ( babri masjid, mandal commission,
fodder scam), Amitabh bachchan had degraded himself to movies like Laal
BaadShah, even our most popular songs we not original. In this era with nothing
to look up to which was Indian, this short guy stood tall above all. He was
hardworking, honest, aggressive yet so humble, respected globally. Sachin was the Indian dream come true, a kid
from a humble family making it to the global stage, with only hard-work and
dedication on his side.
Its amazing how he has maintained his
humbleness over the years, he was clear about his aim from day one. In all his
interviews till date he maintains the same aura of young humble enthusiastic
sportsman. Known on and off the field only for his cricket, far from the usual
controversies which follow super stardom, this Indian idol is a class above the
others. As his scores clearly state Sachin let his bat do the talking, he
played the Gentlemen’s game like it is supposed to be played. He has been the
reason for so many smiles. One such inning was in 2003 world cup against
Pakistan, where he the master blaster did what he does best, scoring runs
across the park against a team we love to beat J
He announced his retirement yesterday…….its
still settling in. Over the last 20 years Sachin had become synonymous with
Cricket, and there will certainly be a void. We will miss him, his presence on
the field, ( when he was fielding the spectators forgot all about the game in
the middle and followed him around the stadium), we will miss that smile, but
most of all we will miss our childhood. He was the symbol of our childhood
dream, to play cricket for India.
Thank You Sachin.
