Sachin Tendulkar gave cricket aficionados three enthralling and emotionally exhausting days of Test cricket. Yet before walking away, he left behind an emotional, inspirational tale of passion, perseverance and triumph that will be recalled as plausibly the greatest amongst Indian stories post independence.
For twenty-four years, Sachin Tendulkar let his bat do the talking. But once he was done with the business on the field for the last time, he opened up his heart and spoke effusively. In that moment, it was hard not to check emotions with the reality sinking in that this was the veritable end of an era, a time when cricket had become larger than life and it eased the growing pains of moving from a school going girl to an academic at college with university degrees towards becoming a full fleged cricket writer. It was not Tendulkar’s journey alone and it was the greatness of the man that he let all of us be a part of it.
When the emotions were calmer, the words flowed once more. Sitting in front of the computer and thinking back on Tendulkar’s emotional speech, one recalled to mind, with a passion forgotten, the inspiration with which one reread the ‘freedom at midnight’ speech of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on the occasion of India’s Independence in 1947 or Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…”
These were moving, rousing speeches that still hold a huge sense of occasion and relevant to our times. When history looks back, Tendulkar’s farewell speech at the Wankhede will undoubtedly become another that will be framed for posterity as one of the greatest non-fiction extempore orations to inspire future generations.
When Tendulkar chose to address the cricket loving public at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, he was acknowledging the spiritual trinity of father, mother and guru (teacher) in becoming of Indian tradition as having played an integral role in his life. He was also telling the inspirational tale of triumph, acknowledging the sacrifices of his family and more particularly, his brother Ajit, of whom he said, “we shared a dream”. He was essentially upholding the institution of marriage when he acknowledged his wife Anjali and describing his relationship with her as the best partnership of his life. In showering respect on the past and present generation of cricketers and ascribing to them the important adage of ‘home away from home’, Tendulkar alluded to what cricket had become in his life. Sachin Tendulkar won the hearts once more when he looked straight at the television screen and said, “24 years is a long time to support someone. Thank you for supporting me.” There was the tug of the heart strings and when the crowd at the Wankhede chanted ‘Sachin, Sachin’ for one last time, it was not hard to describe the unabashed emotions as ‘tears became a waterfall’, the song made popular by British band, Coldplay.
The trappings of fame were not for him. While others may have used a private felicitation ceremony as the platform to express their gratitude, Tendulkar showed that he was one with the cricket loving public as they were with him. It was just one more instance of the greatness of the man who has been known for his cricket excellence but also, for his values as a great human being. Anjali Tendulkar spoke about Sachin Tendulkar on air and one of the most telling statements she made was when she said, “I can imagine cricket without Sachin, but I cannot imagine Sachin without cricket.’ That is another insightful perspective into the man whose name has become synonymous with cricket.
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