An Emotion Named Sachin Tendulkar

“Five years ago, on this day.” Facebook reminded me of something- something I can never forget.

Five years ago…  I was still in school. I was crazy about Sachin Tendulkar. I only bought Reynolds pen because the wrapper had his picture on it, I scribbled his name randomly on my notebooks, I fought with my friends arguing Sachin is the greatest, I never moved away from my seat when he was playing, I used to get mini-heart attack every time an appeal is made against him.

According to me, Tendulkar's last game was the biggest event at that time. I already had plans for his last game, and I remember each and every detail pertaining to what had happened prior to the match day.

Most of his fans, including me, were furious about the LBW decision against him during his penultimate game at Kolkata. That was perhaps the second last time we were going to watch him play and the umpire gives a wrong decision? Unacceptable. Alright! We'll get to see what he's lost in the penultimate on the final.

A day before the game, it was an ordinary day at school before something unusual happened. It was the last year of my school life and the most interesting one, too. And somehow I believed interesting things happen only when certain boundaries are broken. Yet that day no boundary was broken, at least not by me.

There was this notorious classmate of mine who was a part of my school life. He was known to get involved in strange things. That day he was wrongly accused of stealing a book from the library while he claimed he only checked it out. Soon, I don't know how, this scene escalated. He was taken to the principal room and my class teacher and vice principal were also asked to be present. We usually only had Computer Science and English language classes in the afternoon session. Now since the CS teacher was my class teacher and English teacher our vice principal, we almost didn't have any class during that session.

We, inside the classroom, were gossiping about the possible outcomes of the investigation and yet nobody expected it. Gossiping, I must agree, was one of those things which had the school life interesting. Hours of investigation went on and it was strange what was followed. He was handed a five-day suspension. The term “suspension” was new to me. I mean, we were only in school where we don't come across this punishment so often, and I was confused how a suspension would affect a person. In college it is different. But school? In what way was it a penalty?

Some people sympathised, while some felt otherwise. But I only wished I was in his place. 5 days permitted leave to watch the 5-day test cricket. Only a loser wouldn't take it.

I didn't care much about that issue afterwards. The next day, I didn't go to school.  

Well it's Tendulkar's last and I want to watch.

Nothing seemed more important to me.

I don't remember how the Windies stumbled in their first innings on day 1, but India came to bat the same evening and Sachin- at the fall of second wicket, same evening. As he walked into the pitch, you could imagine the kind of cheer he received and people all inside the ground offered him a guard of honour (including the umpires). It was first of it's kind- umpires giving guard of honour. I needn't mention much about his innings- every stroke that the master played gave pleasure like it was just meant for us.

At the end of day 1, the master stayed unbeaten on 38, which meant I had to bunk another day.

The next morning play resumed and Sachin’s farewell gift to his fans was a half-century. I was happy. That's some kind of a pleasure you wouldn't want to share with anyone. It was all for myself. It is for that very reason I like watching cricket (especially test cricket) all alone. There’s serenity. Of course I discussed the game to some extent with my friends but that moment was all mine.

Sachin Tendulkar on 74, a bowler named Narsingh Deonarine spinned one onto the master which he edged and was caught quite easily by the Windies captain, Darren Sammy on slips. He did not celebrate. No one did. The stadium suddenly became still and it went totally dead for a moment. It took a bit for me to realise Sachin was gone. Things happened very fast. More than Tendulkar, we weren't ready for it. Everything had come to an end. Slowly a cheer erupted as Sachin walked off for one last time. There was Harsha Bhogle’s very energetic and enthusiastic voice in the background that kept the spirits and energy high. The moment was slowly fading away and I couldn't believe it was all going to end. “Thank you, Sachin.” Bhogle said.

All was not over here. The game went on to the third day. At the end of day 2, I got a phone call from my friend. Unfortunately the event that preceded brought to light few disciplinary issues and at the heat of moment all the students were asked to be present lest would be facing serious trouble.  Sounds silly, I know but I went to school anyway. It was a Saturday and half-working, supposed to be just a prize-giving ceremony. I thought it would end soon and I'd come home to catch the remaining live action but what happened was different. On my entire time in school that day, I didn't talk to a single teacher and that warning was just a bluff. I came home and the game was over. Sachin Tendulkar's farewell speech included. Perhaps the worst decision, I thought. Going to school that day, but thanks to Facebook, I was able to watch the speech in real time without any cuts as it happened. It was a very emotional one. It left me teary-eyed, to be frank. Finally we had to accept the hard fact that a legend had retired.

The coming generations might call some the greatest of all time, even the stats might prove them right but there can never be an emotion equal to the one named Sachin Tendulkar. There can never be another player who would make you turn the TV off after the fall of his wicket; who could make you nervous with his entry to the pitch, as if you're going in yourself; who could make you completely devastated with his cheap dismissal; who could make you sweat everytime he crosses 90 and who could carry your pulse with his bat, like your heart is meant to beat for his game.

Thank you, Sachin. For everything you have given me and to the country. You'll forever be the greatest.

Footnote: The following is what I received from Twitter and BCCI. An automated autographed picture. It's been five years since I got this and four years since I bought a smartphone. This one is still my wallpaper.

DRS

17/07/2018

ENG vs IND

3rd ODI, Headingley, Leeds

The series decider kick started at 5pm IST as India and England leveled the series 1-1.

       They locked horns in Leeds on this final match to take the trophy home. Having won the previous game against India, England were at the advantage and to add more, they won the toss and put India to bat first.

Meanwhile in Chennai, me and two of my friends were gymming with a busy crowd with literally not enough space to even stretch our full legs for a minute. I kept checking on the scorecard with every interval I could get from the TV placed by the wall.

    The Indian batting line-up was no doubt one of the finest in the world, but that day was chaos. Rohit Sharma lost his cool and gifted his wicket after putting a hard one-sided fight. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli were putting up a nice fight until Dhawan was run out, and then wickets followed. The pitch behaved and Adil Rashid got hold onto it. With dumbbells in my hand, I heard a loud cheer from the TV and so I turned to look what'd happened when I felt a knock on my back.

“Bro, you need those dumbbells?!”

Alright have it.

And, oh! Virat Kohli was clueless to a blinder from Rashid. The off-stump was gone and thus the celebration.

Soon Raina fell an easy prey to the English side.

I only wished I hadn't given off those dumbbells. Now I had to wait.

       With all chances of the team literally dying, there was this one man- MS Dhoni who held his head high to give some sunshine. Remember- a busy day at gym, all hopes of winning were dying and then this.

      I turned to my friend who seemed to have struggling.

“Not working?”

“Left hand doesn't come along, why?!”

        Adil Rashid was torturing the Indian line-up with his sheer brilliance but then his partner at the other end was the one who played the lead role in the act. Moeen Ali turned one towards Dhoni and the ball went on to hit the pads straightaway. There was a loud appeal and all the eyes in the gym turned towards that one TV -yes! The umpire raised his finger and Dhoni was out.

       It was, no doubt, a beautiful delivery from Moeen Ali and even Dhoni wasn't surprised by the decision from the umpire. The world knows Dhoni doesn't review without a reason, but that day he had to take the review not because he believed but he knew he was the last hope to the Indian side. There went the half-hearted appeal.

       The gym which was earlier so busy happened to halt for some time like there was some kind of a flash mob. The event took everyone by surprise and not a single, I repeat, not a single person was lifting weights. All eyes on the TV!

      The Decision Review System came live and our pulses went almost dead.

The ball pitched outside the off-stump (red)

The impact was in-line (red)

There was an eerie tension inside the gym walls before the final card came up- the card that would decide the fate of Dhoni, the card that carried the hope of millions of Indian cricket fans, the card that would send the people back to their routine, and then it came.

Wickets missing (green).

Dhoni survives.

       A surge of silent applause erupted and suddenly there was energy in the air. People started giving awkward gestures to each other whilst smiling and then there was my friend whose awkward smile told me he'd had enough of gym that day. 

Robb Stark

There are several reasons why I like this Game of Thrones character, Robb Stark.

It amazes me every time how the author, George R.R. Martin makes someone fall in love with a non-existent, fictional character.

Here are few things that I have noticed and admired about ROBB STARK.

        His love towards his half brother, Jon Snow

So to start with, Robb was the heir of Winterfell, the largest kingdom in the north, ruled by Lord Eddard Stark a.k.a Ned Stark. My love story starts there. Robb knew, or rather believed, his father had a bastard son and even then Robb didn't envy or show any kind of hatred towards him, Jon Snow, knowing perfectly well that Jon was almost of the same age of his and given a slight trigger from the outside he might fight for his position in the house. Robb also knew his mother never liked Jon, but why should I hate him for that reason? Being a bastard wasn't his mistake.

   But that's not why I admire the short-lived King in the North.

The “kingly” behaviour

Even after Bran's fall, Robb believed that he'll live and had not a slightest feeling of sensitivity, which portrayed a “kingly” character (not allowing negative emotions to fill in and condemn the power).

Right from his father's departure to the country's capital, King's Landing, he took up the role of a king in the best way possible- best as in, best in the series according to me.

Let's now get deep into analysing GRRM’s wonder creations.

True Leader

As soon as he heard word of his father's capture, he decided to wage war against the Lannisters (the house which had captured his father, Ned Stark). But that is not the big deal here. He was just seventeen years old then and had no experience in warfare but he called out for his bannermen and almost immediately decided who must lead the battle in various regions. Even his mother, Catelyn Stark wasn't home to guide/advise him. There was another occasion where he had proved his strength. When one of his bannermen disclaimed his orders, Robb stood firm on what he said and had no second thought in reconsidering his plans for the sake of others. On his mind, “he was the king and nobody cross questions him.”

An act of responsibility was never to go unnoticed when he waved an emotional goodbye to his brother, Bran, knowing all the possible outcomes of the war. He even advised his little brother to stay positive even if he hadn't heard word from him.

Not just this. He proved at many occasions the height of his adamant character. That is to say, a king can be advised but only his orders shall be final.

Mercy

Above all, here is where I started taking this “Robb” character out of the cluster.

On the battle grounds (not during a battle), a Lannister boy was found counting the number of men in Robb’s side. He was caught all right and then when he was produced in front of Robb, he was asked for an explanation. The intention meant no harm and thus Robb let him go unharmed, as he believed it was unnecessary and not the right thing to kill an innocent just because his family played the ugly part.(there you go man, you've won my heart)

Mother goes by the rule too

Catelyn Stark was in the worst position. She lost her husband, left two of her youngest kids at home, alone and gave away two of her daughters to be held captive in the enemy land.

It was at that point she was influenced by the outside force to release the opponent's military commander, Jaime Lannister who was their then prisoner. The deal was this, she lets Jaime go and in return they make sure her daughters return to her safely. A mother's love towards her children blinds the reality, and so she let Jaime go, without Robb knowing it, for she knew Robb would never allow her to free the only piece of living flesh which ensured the war was alive. It was outrageous and on knowing this Robb straightway ordered that his mother be held for her actions (it wasn't a very harsh decision but just that she was held inside a seperate chamber and wasn't allowed to join in any council meeting concerning war; kind of a house arrest).

Pass the sentence and swing the sword.

When Jamie Lannister tried escaping, killing the son of Stark's bannerman, the father wanted revenge and thus he killed an innocent Lannister boy without Robb’s consent or knowledge. Robb stood on his words saying that an innocent shouldn't be killed for his father's traits and because the bannerman slipped out of Robb's spread of law, he sentenced the killer, who was an important member in Robb's side, to death. And then when he passed the sentence he, just like how his father had taught him, swung the sword himself. He knew what he was going to do was wicked, for he also knew he'll lose his men and might eventually lose the war, but Robb did it anyway. And the obvious happened, most of his men abandoned him.

 ---

With a character so brilliantly portrayed, one should only say we hadn't had enough of the boldness to be seen on screen, for he died sooner than other boring characters; but one lesson was learnt- a highly powerful man shouldn't commit mistakes or even if he does, he needs to be ready to face the consequences. Robb wasn't ready and thus his mistake had costed him his life.

It was so painful to swallow the fact that he died off treason, for such bold characters deserve a heroic death, like in a battle or some sacrificial grounds. But anyway, every author has his own style.

If there's one character that could be resurrected, I'd vote for Robb Stark. Nothing can be more exciting.

A young wolf who had won all the battles that he had been in but lost the only war he waged. 

Celestial Wanderer

                           Amidst the many dust particles in the black space she lived like an orb, shining low. The gut feeling inside her knew she certainly didn’t belong there. Emotionally killed many times before by the constellation of which she’d been a quantum, the psychologically wrecked soul lived a mere caged bird’s life, wanting to break the barrier at the threshold so that some day she might not want to see the stars through a fence.

                            Like a daffodil cracking up a concrete floor came her college life. It was the odd which had sprinkled some colours upon that sickened life. It was there she saw a distant star which melted emotions and mixed it up chaotically, resulting turmoil inside her heart. She witnessed him smiling his heart out, in the most zealous way, something which she could never practice. It was perfectly placed to bang a bomb onto her steady state. His random gestures in the air invited special feelings into her.

                            Just like an illustration to that law of science which recites negatively charged particles get attracted towards the positive ones she found herself pulled towards that feeble gravitational force- knowing, yet, there were little chances for anything to get near. She started feeling like he’d come like a distant star to enlighten her darkened phase when the eyes glanced through, longing for company.

The caged bird is let out, unlearnt to fly.

                                         

                          It was a rebirth when she happened to talk with him, and there she experienced the first miracle of her life- a miracle that cheated time. Slowly, he became the reason for her unusual smiles- she smiled, sometimes with his presence, sometimes with his memories and sometimes even with his existence. Even after such tenderly moments spent together, she felt like their relationship was getting so far away yet being too near. The taste of the world’s best coffee without sugar was what that depicted her situation right then. It was all so one-sided without even a weak effort from other side.

                        Sadly, it was the time when she thought she’d shift gears to accelerate the pace with which they were affiliating, he learnt that cancer cells could only be killed at the early stages. Uninterested in what was lying ahead, he started distancing himself from that out-of-reach temptation. Like years of care in building a station vanishing in a single whip, he lived an example only to sow in her the true definition of pain. The pain like she’d never experienced before. The pain of a thousand knives piercing through your body and your ability to still can’t cry out, or worse, even when you scream out aloud just within the audible range and people can’t hear it out. After all, stars aren’t placed far away just to cast light upon the lonely celestial wanderer.

WHAT WAS THAT?!

He packed his half-empty bag and stepped out of his class room adhering that steady walk with his head held high, wearing the same brown lab uniform which he had worn the previous day, with pride. Five buildings and eight departments across the way and nothing  stopped him. The couples in romance and the driving aroma from the canteen never bothered him. That was one kingly attitude that he always possessed. And to his own surprise came a moment where his so called swag dissolved in an instant when he locked eye contact with her- accidentally and unknowingly. The eyes which were earlier dominating now trembled with anxiety like vibrations with a million degrees of freedom. With both the eyes on the ground, he did not realise he was losing his cool and for the first time he felt ashamed of the colour covering his skin.

Steadying his mind he tried once again to focus the disturbance. AGAIN! Her eyes weren't off. The courage was a mere mirage. He then took the yards to exit in a quick pace,  yelling to himself yet smiling, "WHAT WAS THAT?!"