Tendulkar's Tale

"Sachinn....Sachinn...."

The crowds would chant his name in worship when he played cricket for India.

Although of small stature, Sachin Tendulkar's image is larger than life. His career as a sportsman was remarkable. He started playing for India at the tender age of 16 and batted on to his 100th international century before retiring in 2013.

As a gifted batsman, Sachin has scored more runs and made more centuries than any other player in both Tests and one-day games. He gained celebrity status early in life, however, he has always remained a very private man - hardly ever speaking about his family, fantastic scores, frustration, or failure.

His autobiography, Playing it my way, written with Boria Majumdar was published in 2014 by Hodder and Stoughton.  It provides an insight into his personal life and gives an informative account of his sporting career.
The heavy tome has several statistical records of all the matches that he played and also some interesting pictures from his personal collection.

Sachin begins telling his story by quoting his late father, the Marathi poet Ramesh Tendulkar's words:
"Son, life is like a book. It has numerous chapters...More often than not, failure and sorrow are bigger teachers than success and happiness... Do not allow success to breed arrogance in you. If you remain humble, people will give you love and respect even after you have finished with the game."

Growing up in a traditional Maharashtrian family helped to shape Sachin's character the high moral values. Being an active naughty child, he was always getting bruised and scraped and his father used to examine his body while he slept to see if any injuries required medical attention. Sachin recounts many endearing memories from his childhood.

Sachin's gifted way with the bat was recognised in its infancy by his brother Ajit and Achrekar Sir. They both played a major role in mentoring him and shaping his early career. With humility, Sachin pays respects to his parents, his mentors, and his older siblings.

It is interesting to note that one entire chapter in the book is dedicated to Anjali, his wife, with whom he has had 'the best partnership' of his life. He remembers how they met and courted. Anjali had a blossoming medical career which she gave up to take care of the family while Sachin was away playing for India. She firmly held his hand through all the ups and downs in his life. Through the book, Sachin comes across as a loving family man who is tenderly attached to his parents, siblings, wife, and children.

Success came early to this cricket legend. Along with success there was also the occasional failure. He learnt how to handle both. He excelled as a batsman but received flak from the media for his role as a captain. Sachin's tone is slightly bitter when he gives a justification for his actions as a captain. He also discusses the ' Monkeygate' that rocked the Indian and Australian teams.

Sachin highly respected other cricketers and tells some funny anecdotes about the most serious and senior players. He also relates some pranks played by the team and exposes their human side to the readers.

For any Sachin fan, this biography is a rare treat from the man who speaks with his actions.


 

Interesting interactions

Among other things, Tanya also works as a model.

Her husband good-humouredly complains: “I go to the malls, I see you. I go to the bank, I see you. I go the airport, and you are there too. I feel so watched everywhere I go.”

For a while, Tanya’s smiling pictures were splashed on some of the glass doors which opened automatically all over the city. She says seeing her own smile made her happy at moments when she was in a particularly gloomy mood.

***

Waking up in the morning, I realise that my voice is gone. A throat infection it is.

Holding my neck with both hands, I croak, “Khaanot talk.”

This was more than ten years ago. I worked as a lecturer then and talking was a part of the job. There were about three hundred young students who would be attending my lectures that day. Oh no, I couldn’t let them down. If I couldn’t speak, I had to make alternative arrangements. I decided to ask my friends Pranali, Nelson, and Subhash – they all belonged to the much envied tribe of mathematics lecturers – to substitute for my lectures.

I dialled the college phone number to inform them.

Trring! Tring! Tring! Tring!

A young, clear, feminine voice answered:

“Welcome to Vidyavardhini’s College of Engineering and Technology. Please dial the extension number or wait for assistance.”

This recorded mechanical answer never fails to astound me. Even more so on that day because I could barely speak.

It is my own voice recorded years ago for the college answering machine and it is always such a peculiar situation because I am interacting with myself.

This robotic voice reassures me that things will be normal soon and I could have a voice like that in the answering machine.

 

Re-reading Alice

There are books which seem like you are reading them for the first time every time you read them.

The book, however, is the same. It is you who have changed.

Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll is one such timeless book.

The first time I read it in primary school, it seemed like visiting one of the provinces in my own dreamland.
The second time, it seemed like completely out of this world, like stumbling upon a fool's tea party where nothing goes right.
Now, when I read it for the third time, so many things make perfect sense!

Dear readers, I must share some favourite quotes from this masterpiece with you.

(Pictures courtesy: Google images)