Sach is Life !!!!

Indian media is now a days flooded with the endless memoirs on sachin and his journey through the 20 Yrs in the international cricket. So, much has been written, that people are now struggling to find words to write about him. But in the millions of words printed and read, the phenomena called Sachin Tendulkar is yet to be covered holistically.
Growing up in an era which fortunately coincided with the evolution of sachin from a child prodigy to the player carrying hopes of billions of people. Never a single human has carried so much expectations on his shoulders. Although a very mediocre player, i was a cricket enthusiast from beginning ( Helped form the fact that my dad is also a big fan..). Childhood memories are still fresh with the moments where sachin . almost unknowingly entered in our lives

Here i want to share some of such moments in my life related to the “God of Cricket”
1. Burgulars in House : It was one of my very fond moment of sachin tendulkar. Being a middle class family we used to live in a rented house. It was India’s Tour to New-Zealand, new cable connection and match start at 2:30 Am in morning. So, one fine night me and dad was watching a match in a clod north Indian morning, when the guy called sachin tendulkar start smashing bowlers all around the park as he might be swatting away mosquitoes. Me, being a child cant help my emotions but the surprising part was that dad was also shouting at the top of his voice. Mummy, as accustomed, put pillow over ears and tried to sleep. Next morning the landlord aunty ask my mom “ Bhabhijee kal aapke ghar mein chor aa gaye the kya.. subah subah bahut halla ho raha tha.... hearing this mummy laughed and laughed because now
she knows who were the burgulars !!!

2. Speech in the school: We have some crazy house systems in my school. So, it was my turn to conduct the assembly in the coming week. I have to give an opening speech and i was woefully nervous !!.. A day before assembly , sachin blasted an Australian attack for back to back hundreds in desert , and the next day i produced the story by including the elements of determination and talent. That was my best assembly ever , with people clapping at the end of the speech, and i was silently thanking to sachin to save my soul.

3. Boy goes missing : 137 made in the second test in Chennai against Pakistan, was one of the most painful moment in my life. I was following the match from the beginning. Lost hopes about india winning during the stary of the day, got dumstruck by the batting prowess of a genius and felt helpless as hell, to see 3 lower order players wasting a gem of the innings. I was so frustrated, that i took my bicycle and went to a nearby park, and started crying. I cried for about 2hours ( albeit in breaks..). When i reached back in my colony, 2-3 boys told that my parents are worries and looking for me, where the boy had gone missing. Aah ! those were not the days of mobile phones and internets ....

4. “sachin hai kya” : This is the most repeated line i have heard in all these years watching cricket. Everytime when india is batting and you tell someone score , this is the inevitable question. Even if india are 8 wickets down still people will ask this question. As they are assured by jawans protecting the border, they tend to feel comfortable while sachin is guarding crease. In a country of so dissimilarities, he keeps all of us unite in happiness, grief and prayers. With all the vagaries of caste, religion, regionalism, i think a crtical review is required how he has kept this country united as one.

5. First Time i lost bet: There are some characters in ramayan, who were famous only because lord rama had given them nirvana. Henry olonga, is not a demon by any way, but he was definitely slaughtered in the desterts of sharjah by a little genius , we all know as sachin tendulkar. A match prior he dismissed sachin tendulkar with a freaky short ball, and celebrated a lot, doing war-like dance. I was watching the match with my friend, and he told me that this bowler’s career would be ruined by sachin. He was proved right a couple of days later when he thrashed him all over the park. May be the career was not ruined in the literal sense, but by then i had lost my first bet.

6. Bunking my School : After a historic Test series , india and austraila was playing a ODI in Kanpur , and i just cant resist myself from going out there, being living in Kanpur. So, in lunch time , me and my friend made a plan, talked about some emergency in home and bunked school and head straight towards the greenpark. And boy, sachin made it worth the effort. Sixes of Warne, Bevan and Lehman keep hitting the stands on a regular basics. All in all he hit 11 sixes as we keep the count by breaking a cold drink bottle each time ... In the evening i told dad about it, and he said why hadn’t you told me i would have taken a break from office.

7. India-Pakistan Matches: India –Pakistan matches were used to be a demo-war for all of us. It was 2003 World cup, India’s Last League game against the arch rivals Pakistan. Dad was ready from the morning, doing all sort of prayers and tricks. Agarbatti in front of television and devotional songs may sound a bit weird but believe me it was the case. Pakistan on back of saeed anwar had put a stiff target of 272. There was a silent nervousness in the house. Mummy who relatively doesn’t show much of the interest was also watching the match very interestingly. Shoaib akhtar came charging up, banged a short one, and it disappeared over the point boundary. The rest is history !!! , and one more thing i could remember is the wonderful food cooked by mummy that time.

8. IMT Public Going Crazy: This is one of the most recent moment in my life. Australia amassed a total of 349, virtually impossible to chase. By chance, my parents also came to visit that day. So, i and dad was watching match in Mess. Sehwag and yuvraj were gone , but still sachin was looking in a good nick. But since, there is little hope, i came back to room with mummy ans started chatting with her. Meanwhile i had opened live scores on cricinfo in the Laptop. Suddenly sachin went berserk, a Six... another one...a boundary.... i said to mummy you rest and i rushed towards the mess. Well the scene was completely changed in mess. There was a considerable crowd now in mess, watching very anxiously . Sachin was on for something special and he started to bamboozle all of us by his master class batting. Suddenly some people started banging table.. some dishes with spoon and the ambience changed in a moment. Everybody started shouting “sachin, sachin...” and the breathtaking strokeplay matched up to every cry. Ironically, it was another heartbreaking loss, but when my father came out , he said that i never expected MBA Students to be so cricket crazy. This is what Sachin can do mere mortals.