The Modern Demi-God

"If Cricket is a religion, Sachin is the God."
"Cheats. India play with 20 players. 10 + 10dulkar."
"Sexy Shot."
"Sachin Aala re."
"East or west, Sachin is the best."

These are just a few of those numerous banners which define someone special. As you might have guessed till this time, this post is all about Sachin. And since cricket is not a cup of tea for girls, so I would appreciate if even after being a female you go through it once :). I am writing this post just because the temptation to write something on Sachin was too hard to resist for me.

The name Sachin - in itself - is iconic. When I meet a group of unknown people for the first time, it is really tough to remember most of the names. But if that name happens to be Sachin, I always get it mapped to the correct person. This has happened to me on a no. of occasions. Sachin is a dream persona. One that most parents want their child to become. But alas! None has come even within miles of "The Little Master".

So what is it about Sachin that makes him super special? When Sachin made his International debut at a tender age of 16 years & 205 days against Pakistan in 1989 in Karachi, nobody thought that today after almost 20 years, this lad would still be going so strong. That test match was the advent of a champion. A Master. Although he did not do well in first innings of that match, the way he handled the body blows from Imran, Wasim and Waqar made it evident that there was something special with this baby faced boy. And after his first series he had 2 Half centuries in his kitty even though he batted as low as on no. 6, overshadowed by his 'then' more illustrious colleagues like Srikkanth, Shastri, Prabhakar, Sidhu, Manjrekar and Azhar. And just in his 9th match, barely 9 months after his debut, Sachin hit a magnificient first Test century at Manchester which helped India draw the match. He was all of 17 at that time, and didn't possess a Driving License.

But if that first test century was late, then imagine till how long he had to wait for his first One Day International century. 79 matches to be precise. And that came at the batting position Sachin loves the most in ODIs. Opening the innings. And after that he never looked back. The slow start in terms of no. of centuries became a rapidfire roadrash, that's still going on. 39 in tests and 42 in ODIs. And the counter is still in the incremental mode. By the time he retires. he'll create a Mt. Everest of runs, which no one in near future can think of climbing even half-way.

Such is the mesmerising effect of Sachin's batting that even today people watch the match just to see Sachin bat. And even today, if he gets out early, TV sets just go on Stand-by. The flicks, the pulls, the ferocious cuts, fine leg glances, lofted shots, are all music to the ears. You name it and he just guides his bat, and the rest is taken care of by one of the heaviest bats this game has ever seen.. But all these don't include the shot which he thrives on.. the bread and butter shot for him and an eye candy for the viewers.. I am talking about his drives, be it square drive, the beautiful extra cover drive or the ever so special drive straight down the ground, which lets us see the full MRF logo on the straightest possible bat, with the body moving just 2 paces forward with the momentum of the shot. The elan, the charisma, and the authority with which every shot comes out, seems like the grand Pacific is just on a high tide in a whirlwind manner, sweeping everything that comes its way. And the sufferers are none other than the paltry humans, whom the world knows as bowlers.. And who knows it better than one Henry Olonga.. a decent bowler, whose only mistake was to proclaim that he knows how to get Sachin out. And the very next match, finals of Sharjah, Ind vs Zimbabwe, the whole Zimbabwean team had to bear the brunt of Henry's remarks.. the target was though very meagre, Sachin made it look like next to nothing. The slice over third man for a six set the tone, followed by cuts, pulls, hookes, drives and the match got over much before the stipulated 50 overs, and the master came back not out 124 in a score of 197.

But this blog would remain incomplete if I don't mention the 2 greatest innings which Sachin played.. back to back.. Venue - Sharjah again(lucky place).. Opponents.. the ever so machinesque .. Kangaroos.. Well in cricket when we talk about Kangaroos, Kiwis, Tigers etc., it doesn't mean that we are on a safari.. These are the names to represent countries like Australia, New Zealand and India. So, the two matches came in the scorching heat of April, 1998. Both times India were set stiff targets from aussies, and for once the totals looked intimidating. But if you have Sachin in your side, then even impossible spells itself as i m possible. Anyone who missed those 2 matches, missed innings of a lifetime. Aussies are real tough nuts to crack, and to handle the pressure, you need an even tougher nut which would never crack.. The game to qualify for the finals is still Sachin's greatest innings ever as far as I am concerned. He battled hard alone(with a bit of support from our best stumper Mongia), firstly against the bowlers and then against the nature Gods .. as Sharjah witnessed a sandstorm, and an even greater Sachin storm after that which saw him score 143. A storm which helped India storm into the finals, and finally win the trophy, once again courtesy another brilliant 134 from Sachin. Aussies were doomed, and the debate of the century (who is best, Sachin or Lara) got settled, once and for all.

So far, those who are not too familiar with cricket would be thinking that Sachin has never seen downs in his life. Well, although this article might depict him as a deity(which he is), still there are a few human elements which none can get away with. Not even Sachin. He has had 2 failed attempts at captaincy, which shows that batting is a much easier job in comparison. And then there are accusations that he has not won a test match for India in such a long time. But then people forget that many matches became one-sided contests when Sachin wielded his willow and his stay at crease inspired others to perform notches above their actual potential. Such is the greatness of the man that he has bore the mighty weight of expectations of this 1 billion Indian population, and has never ever wilted under such an enormous pressure. Still when he gets out early, people abuse him, and for the past 6 years at least I am listening, "Sachin should retire now", "He has lost it" and so on and so forth.. Still its Sachin due to whom we were able to beat Aussies in Australia in 2 consecutive finals of the recently concluded CB series. The architect of countless Indian victories has not lost it.. and will never lose it. And critics are silent again(for the umpteenth time).

On this note, I would give a break to my fingers which are keen to keep writing more and more about this phenomenon. Just one last compliment for Sachin, which again came in the form of a banner at Sachin's Cricket Ground(SCG - actually Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia for not so cricket crazy) which someone held in the crowd in a recent match.

“Commit all your crimes when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even the Lord is watching.”

Birth and Death - And in between

Birth and Death are momentary. One moment we are into this world, and another moment we are out of it. And these are the two moments which are never in our control. In fact we never really know what happened at these moments. But in between these two extremes lies the most important phase of a human life - the LIFE itself.

Of all the existing species, humans are considered to be the most advanced race, probably because we have outnumbered every other race, whether in terms of headcount, intellect or acquired power. The question here is not that whether we are really advanced or not. The question is, that we know we are superior, and we keep striving hard to retain and enhance that. And in this quest for money, power and fame, we forget to LIVE.

So what, in essence, is living. Does it mean relinquishing the efforts made for betterment of life. No. Does it mean doing compromises which could affect the quality of life. Certainly not. Then what is it?

Everyone who is born goes through a life, but not everyone lives it. And the primary reason behind this is that most of us are not really aware of what we need from life. So we keep on chasing dreams (at times unrealistic) endlessly, mindlessly. At these times, we don't even look around who is behind us, until a small pit becomes a big trough, and on the other side of that trough is our family, friends and other near and dear ones. And what we have at that moment - a bundle of money, accompanied by nameless, faceless people, and on top of that bundle we are sitting - all alone.

Now the question arises - How could this be avoided? The answer is not too complicated if we try to implement it. As I have mentioned earlier also, everyone should have goals, as its these goals which keep a person on his toes, and prevent him from losing interest in life. But having unrealistic goals is the undoing of most of us. So firstly, before setting a goal, we should carefully weigh out the scenarios around it. And if its coming at too big a cost(in terms of our relations), then its better to look for another alternative.

Time management is also something which is really essential. At times we get involved in useless acts which results in wastage of time. So managing time efficiently helps a lot. This really precious time could well be spent as quality time with family and friends.

Remember - Life beckons just once. Follow it. Live it to the fullest. Explore yourself, your likes and dislikes. Pursue a hobby, and another one. The secret of remaining happy would then no longer be a secret. And that satisfaction(with everyone around you), has no counterpart. Its better being a Millionaire Achiever than a Billionaire Beggar.

It can be all be summed up with a simple quote here :

“Always remember to slow down in life; live, breathe, and learn; take a look around you whenever you have time and never forget everything and every person that has the least place within your heart.”

So live your life as only you can.