Sachin carted the opposition out of the park. He was chosen as the Man of the Match. I was enjoying it all the way, yes I was till...
till he announced his retirement from international cricket.
I was stunned..the whole world was. I saw my heart sink.. It fell.. from below the left breast to the waist.. as it touched down.. there was a soft.. naah.. a painful thud!!
It wasn`t my heart i realized.. It was me lying on the floor, I had fallen from my bed.
I foraged in the darkness for my cellphone to call Paro.. (no need to mention he`s useless, and it was obvious he would have no idea..but still!!)
Paro was overjoyed guessing it was an invitation for a midnight Daru party.
His intial enthusiasm died down as I told him about Sachin`s retirement.(That I realized from his sigh.. sounded the same as it does when you pour water on a hot sauce pan.. ummm sorry for the hopeless imagery!!) He was more than happy to know that his Dada (Sourav Ganguly), he calls him: aasol mard<< real.. uncastrated man.. neeiighhhhhhh>>doesn`t it sound like @ss hole mard.. he he :) ) in the Indian team. His masi in Kolkata offers a coconut to Maa Kali whenever Dada goes out to bat.
I guess I have dithered from the topic.
We.. (my generation i.e.) have bred on a heavy dose of cricket, with some awesome names to flaunt.
We`ve worshipped them, criticised them, adored them, ostracised them.. what not.. cuz we have owned them..and we are blessed to have lived in the same era.
Arguably, Sachin has been the best of the lot. The closest one can come to be called God. (Paro.. I know to whom the offside belongs to ;) )
Swashbuckling cricket, innumerable centuries, (GOSH!! what if we add the blistering 90s -my personal favorites- to them!!) eclectic batsmanship, unquestionable dedication and add all these to his stupendoeus simplicity and down2earth demeanour.. and you already know why he got the demi-god status he enjoys.
We cannot imagine an India match without him and, if and when we are struck by the inevitable- his retirement- it would be a difficult moment.
Its sure.. He`ll be missed, even by his baiters - the man has left such an impression. They will realize the reason of their own criticism: that he was not God.. but he was close.. Sachin.. Apna Sachin :)
(I`m a fan of the God of the offside as well. This was purely for humour and for paro ;) )
