Jai Ho! Sachin ki

In the early 90s, the world saw a fine young lad – a toddler then in comparison to the great Cricketing giants – whose batting provoked gasps of admiration.  He was being compared to the legendary Sunil Gavaskar by the media.  Obviously, it was not to be taken seriously, as they were known to be notorious and often accused of being geared towards selling sensational stuff.  Moreover, their hyperactive statements, on most of the occasions, were huge on headlines and pitiable on details.  Being judgmental about people too early and then supporting their claims with ostensibly inept standards of journalism was typical of the Indian media.  However, not this time.  People believed every word they had to say and, in fact, it appeared that they just wanted to, simply because this man was different.  After the-then-18yr-old scored a century in Perth ’91-92, where the pitches were known to be the bowlers’ backyard and the visiting teams’ graveyard, Merv Hughes told his captain, “This little prick is going to score more runs than you, AB (Allan Border)!”  Well, his prophecy certainly turned out to be right.

He was an extraordinary character who in spite of being almost a midget strode like a colossus and contributed to the cricketing lore like never before.  Pundits predicted that he would break every record in sight and named him the little master.  His detractors waited patiently for his failures and pounced on him at every possible opportunity offering sharp criticism.  In fact, many comments were suffused with severe abhorrence that could’ve consumed any mortal being.  He, however, was always phlegmatic, for he knew that he had the ability to turn things around.  He never wanted to be ordinary and was relentless in his vision.  Furthermore, his ambition to achieve the impossible was very un-Indian for that matter. Indian Cricket needed an avenger, a man with a vision and a sense of mission. It needed ownership and enterprise.  He gave us exactly that.  He salvaged our cricket from the swamp of ignominy time and again and rehabilitated its spirit.  He forced us to believe that we could be Kings too! 

At his peak, none could match the sensory pleasures that he provided through his majestic elegance.  Intelligent that he was, he was doubtless aware that talent when amalgamated with a sense of tenacity and confidence would make for a winning formula. He did fail miserably at times but always made a comeback of staggering proportions to mesmerize billions.  His greatest eulogy of course came from the great Sir Don Bradman who on record said that the man’s style of play was very close to his own and made him reminiscent of a bygone era where he once existed. 

Without an iota of doubt, the last 23 years of his career has been nothing less than boisterous, breathless, prudent and seminal not to forget chaotic and crass at times as well; nonetheless fully alert and alive to the spectrum of threats and prominence. This is why it is so distressing to see how he is being reduced to a “commoner” by bowlers not even one-tenth of his stature.  Being an ardent fan ever since knowing him, I fervently wish that he gets to hang his boots at his own free will rather than being “booted out”!  There’s always a hope that his form might return, and his fans would be the happiest if it happens but that seems highly unlikely at this juncture.  His career has now reached almost a nadir and a majority of his followers who considered him to be god have now resorted to blatant ‘blasphemy’, which is excruciatingly agonizing and something which should never happen to a man of his stature!

With every century he looked at the skies thanking the lords and probably asking them to test him further with worthy opponents who could stop him.  It seems that his wish has finally been granted, he perhaps has met a foe, albeit in a different form, that he may never beat: Time.  Long live the maestro – Sachin Tendulkar!  Thank you for all that you’ve done for the country and for making us Indians feel good about ourselves. 

Thanks to Rahul Shanbhogue (rahul.shanbhogue@gmail.com) for sharing his wonderful ideas.