Nobel Laureate Samuel Beckett wrote a play named “Waiting for Godat” where two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait endlessly and in vain for someone named Godat to arrive. Millions of Indians for the last year were in a similar state waiting for their demigod Sachin Tendulkar to hit his 100th international ton.
The magic moment finally arrived when the ‘Little Master’ reached that milestone against Bangladesh in an Asia Cup match in Mirpur, Bangladesh on Friday, the 16th of March, 2012. It was the day the Union budget for the financial year 2012-13 was presented in the Indian Parliament which was the single most important event in the country that day. But Tendulkar’s feat quickly changed that within hours.
All the Indian television channels, media houses and internet sites, which were busy bringing in every detail of the budget and getting into its minor details, quickly shifted focus to this unbelievable achievement.
It was another feat which questioned the limits of human endeavour. Jesse Owens was perhaps the first to test the boundaries of the human body when he conquered the laws of speed, strength and endurance by shattering four world records in just under an hour. Almost a decade later, Roger Bannister bursts some other myths by running the first ever sub-four minute mile. In Montreal Olympics in 1976, Romania’s Nadia Comanechi rewrote the history of perfection by finishing with a perfect 10 on the uneven bar.
Cricket Super Star Sachin Tendulkar Photo courtesy desktopwp.com
There were more such examples which had made people sit up and question: Is there any end to what a human being can achieve?
Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th international ton will definitely again raise this question. But the batsman himself tried to put his achievement in perspective when he said: “I am not God. I am Sachin Tendulkar.”
He admitted the long wait of 33 innings for the ton frustrated him at times. “Everywhere I went — restaurants, housekeeping, room service — everyone just spoke about the 100th hundred, it became difficult mentally,” he said.
No doubt Sachin felt he had lost 50 kilos after the ton.
It is not easy to become Sachin Tendulkar. The Mumbai boy has been carrying the burden of expectations of millions and millions of Indians all over the world whenever he walked into the field ever since he came into the limelight. No other cricketer perhaps led such a life always under the public and media glare. But still he managed to keep his feet on the ground and remain a humble boy next door.
In a country where cricket is not only a sport but more than a religion, Sachin remained an idol for thousands of youngsters where all wished to become like him one day. And even if few can reach where Sachin went as a cricketer, they will not lose much even if they can become half the person that Sachin is.
There has been no dearth of talents in international cricket and there were few others who were perhaps more talented than Sachin. But they have all fallen by the wayside while Sachin kept on rediscovering himself. The game has given him fame, money, respect but what has kept Sachin going is none of these but the simple love for the game. And that had made all the difference.
Sachin had a simple piece of advice for thousands of youngsters who grow up seeing and idolising him. “Enjoy the game and chase your dreams. I think dreams do come true,” he said after hitting the ton.
It’s difficult to say whether Sachin’s feat will ever be surpassed, but for the thousands of cricket lovers all over the world who have watched him play over the years, it was like a dream they were living through.
May Sachin continue like this for ever and provide smiles on the faces of so many people.
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