Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart started composing at the age of five. Pablo Neruda wrote his Book of Twilights when he was 19. Sachin Tendulkar was all of six when he took up a bat in earnest. By the time he was 15, he was the most talked-about schoolboy cricketer ever. More than two decades on, he remains Indian cricket’s man for all seasons, the repository of a nation’s hope. Those that played with him in the days of auld lang syne have long since migrated to the coaching field and the commentary box. Tendulkar, his eyes perhaps set on a World Cup swansong on home turf, continues to mark his guard and settle into that unmistakable stance.
What is there left to say about this man? At the age of 18, he was standing on tiptoe to drive and cut Australia’s finest on his way to a century in Perth. At 21, he decided that he’d like to open in one-day cricket. He’s still going strong 45 hundreds later. A few days short of 25, he played an innings, with a desert storm as backdrop, that will never be forgotten by those fortunate enough to see it. At 30, faced with the longest lean trot of his career, he memorably decided to eschew the cover-drive in Sydney, ruining Steve Waugh’s farewell with a 241 that was an enactment of monastic denial on a cricket field.
The records and the catalogue of achievement will be cherished for years. What’s even more admirable though is the manner in which he’s dealt with unimaginable fame and untold riches. When he was still a teenager who had yet to make his Ranji Trophy debut, Ramakant Achrekar, his coach, said: “People don’t realise that he is just 15. They keep calling him for some felicitation or the other. The other day he was asked to inaugurate a children’s library. This is ridiculous. These things are bound to go to his head. He will start thinking he has achieved everything.”
The wonder of Tendulkar is that he never did. A couple of years ago, at a bookshop in the newly opened Bangalore Airport, I happened to see an entry in the visitors’ book. Beneath the familiar signature, there was one line: ‘Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricket team.’ To others, he may be primus inter pares, the ubiquitous face of his sport, but after all this time and all those halcyon years, he still views himself as part of a bigger picture.
That picture has changed beyond our wildest imagination from the time that a curly-haired 16-year-old walked out on to the field at the National Stadium in Karachi. Back then, cricket was still a sport. Passionately followed, but hardly the commercial behemoth that it has since become. Over the next few years, Tendulkar did for cricket what Michael Jordan had done for the NBA and what Joe Namath and Super Bowl III did for the NFL. When he walked to the crease, a nation stopped to watch. Even now, at restaurants and airports, Blackberrys come out and ball-by-ball updates are discreetly accessed once people learn that “the boss is batting”.
Those that don’t really know India well speak of cinema as the country’s greatest unifying force. That’s nonsense. Amitabh Bachchan’s oeuvre resonates little with the man in Tamil Nadu’s interior, just as Rajnikanth is little more than an object of curiosity to someone in Punjab. But Chennai or Chandigarh, Guwahati or Cochin, Tendulkar walks out to undiluted acclaim. With the exception of Gandhi, perhaps no other Indian has managed to rally so many behind the flag.
When he reached his century with the last stroke of the match in Chennai a year ago, it wasn’t just a stadium that cheered and danced and wept. Coming three weeks after the terror attacks in Mumbai, there was something pre-ordained about it all. A few days earlier, he had released a commercial with the line: “I play for India, now more than ever”. There may not have been a cape or a mask, but there were no murmurs of dissent when Kevin Pietersen called him Superman.
His struggles with captaincy make him human, and the heartbreaks of Chennai (1999) and the Wanderers (2003, when a World Cup final was lost even before he came out to bat) will perhaps haunt him for the rest of his days. But when all is said and done, the 36-year-old continues to do what the schoolboy did. And as we ponder what makes him tick, maybe we just need to listen to a nursery rhyme that’s sung to one of Mozart’s tunes. Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Nice article. A bit on the emotive side rather than analytical. There’s no questioning the genius. There’s no questioning he is the most gifted bastman of his time, he had it all. But I don’t think its unfair (given he was the most natural born genius since Bradman) to question whether he had a Bridgetown moment, an Antigua moment or a 254 at Lords as magical as the Don’s.
You kid yourself if you think that Tendulkar ruined Steve Waugh’s final test. That is a very indio-centric view of the world, and Tendulkar’s role in it (though not half as absurd as comparing him to Mozart, a genius ahead of his time).
For whom did he ruin it? Indians? Waugh? I doubt it. He didn’t ruin it for Australians. You’re making out that Tendulkar was the centrepiece of that Test. You’re skewing history to your own perspective.
I was at that test and nobody, in the crowd, at work or in the Australian media before or after, gave Tendulkar much of a second thought at all, even if he did make 241. We did talk about our lousy bowling at times, and noted that Waugh defended McGill’s lousy fielding, and I do remember the catch that got Waugh out, but it was just an Indian fielder to us – we were all focused on Steve. If anybody, other than Waugh and the Aussies, it was Ganguly who we talked about. He got a lot of press.
And Tendulkar may be the biggest thing in Cricket world, and with unimaginable fame in India, but on the wider sporting stage, he hardly compares with Tiger Woods, or Federer, or even Beckham, who are recognizable as global cultural icons.
I know you want to give him deserved adulation, but some perspective, please.
Steve – you accuse Dileep of having a skewed perspective and then reveal your own skewed perspectives in your rebuttal. What are your doctors giving you for your hallucinations? So the fielding and bowling were poor, eh? What are you implying? That your cricket team is so poor that they cannot stop someone from scoring a triple hundred in the game? That your great skipper is so deficient as a leader that he cannot even throw the ball to the good bowlers in his team? And no one in the crowd spoke about his innings? I didn’t know that the SCG is frequented by such ignorant crowds! And Indians don’t dispute the fact that the likes of Federer and Beckham are such great sportsmen. They are wonderful sportsmen. Tiger Woods is a great sportsperson too but most people in the world don’t know who Tiger Woods is so I won’t call him a cultural icon. The 400 million odd inhabitants of North America and Europe might worship his skills as a golfer but Indians don’t stop in their tracks to watch him putt. We might stop in our tracks to watch Beckham miss another penalty kick in a crunch game or see Federer win another grand slam. But I can assure you that when Sachin plays, India does stop and that he is the centrepiece of every discussion the next day. To us, he is a cultural icon and that is sufficient for us. He and the sport of cricket have been the greatest unifying forces in the nation and he has been an integral part of the lives of all Indians of my generation. To be frank, we don’t care about an ignorant Sydneysider and his bigoted thoughts on our icon. In fact, if your city mates share your views, we are better off tuning your city out of our sphere of focus.
Put it this way. Rahul Dravid (a man would would count himself lucky if I said he had 1/10th the gift and talent of Tendulkar ) was India’s best batsman of the decade.
Should’nt that say something. I am not saying Sachin was not great. I am not saying he was not the best thing since Bradman.
What I am saying is that great talent needs to be measured against the mark that talent should justify. The question is did he really justify his talent or did he fail to deliver when it really. counted.
I agree with the above poster. Though both Genius in their youth, Sachin can’t be compared to Mozart both in talent and achievement. If anything Bradman is the closest thing we have to Mozart in cricket. And Lara was the closest thing we had to Woods, Jordan and Becks.
So, Steve, scraping a draw in his final Test was an appropriate farewell for Waugh? As for Tendulkar being peripheral in that game, I guess you didn’t read what Roebuck, Baum, Coward and many others wrote.
I won’t get into a debate about where he stands with respect to Woods and Federer, or other “global cultural icons”, but including Beckham in the same sentence is a good laugh. He was a global marketing creation. Show me one genuine United fan, and not some come-lately glory hunter, who even rated him as one of the three best players on that team. Keane, Scholes and Giggs were immeasurably superior. Not one of Beckham’s peers was ever stupid enough to call him the best in the world. Waugh himself, and many others who know better than you and me, have said that of Tendulkar. Cultural icon or not.
Dileep. Please – get the order right! Giggs, Keane and Scholes. Not Keane, Scholes and Giggs! The Neville brothers should figure ahead of Beckham too.
I agree with that above point Dileep. It does not matter whether he was a cultural icon or not. There is no doubting he is a class above the rest. And perhaps his legacy will be his longevity rather than a bridgetown moment.
As for me. Give me Sir Roy Keane any day. The man, the legend, the enforcer and the knee breaker.
don’t be so god-damned condescending! You have deliberately misinterpreted what I said! Fatuous ass. As if I read Coward and co. and think “oh, they must be right and true, my perceptions were wrong, because they are sports writers and I am not”!
Culture is an contextual expression of human society. Writers may shape it, or be shaped by it, but whether you like it to recognize it or not, what the community experiences is as valid, if not more so, as what any sports writer chooses to focus on. Especially a lightweight like Roebuck, for God’s sake.
Sport is part of culture, not culture itself. a sportsman may be great in his field, but not transcend his field. Oh why bother trying to educate you. Your mindset is obviously hopelessly rigidified.
And you grossly overestimate the ability of mere sports writers to influence culture.
ohh
And so here is steve who thinks he is better than people who knew the game many a time better than him! the way sachin carried himself on and off the field is exemplary to all the sports persons around the world! accept it or live in ur perceptionalised gutter!
Oh Steve, if you would once read CLR James’ Beyond a Boundary you would know the fallacy of your argument.
Steve. I think you need to show some respect here. Dileep is the finest Indian sports writer of his generation. He has been widely lauded worldwide hence his appeal in such papers as the times, the guardian and the indy, no to mention his part in the formation of the greatest cricket web site in the world.
Perhaps you need to take a step back and think who you are talking to and show some respect. Your language and tone is unbecoming.
You have a point and you have a right to voice it. But not in the manner you have just done. It is unacceptable and particularly if as you claim you are a fan of cricket.
you are right neilsrini! steve’s language is very unacceptable given the context!
Deepu, please leave Steve alone. I can understand the feelings of a loser, that too when Sachin has always kept his best against Australia! If a hero of more than 1/4th population of this world is not a cultural icon..then who else is!!
Steve,
Your opinion of Sachin Tendulkar’s place in history is grossly incorrect . From your write up its pretty clear you dont have the sense of judgement that is so needed to compare sportsmen . Your inclusion of Beckham is the most laughable piece of opinion in a long time . Tiger Woods is a great sportsman , no doubt about it .. But has he influence half the number of people Sachin “Tendulkar has? a quarter ? that why Sachin Tendulkar is a global sporting icon . From Bangladesh to England to Australia , he is respected in every land where cricket is played. Its no mean acheivement. Regarding your language its undesirable to the core and shows you do not have the guts and gumption to debate sensibly.
Dileep , Great Article as always.
Woods, Federer etc play in games/sports that have universal following. Cricket doesn’t belong to that category. It is not just a coincidence that the cable TV revolution in India and Tendulkar’s growth as a player coincided. Think of someone like Rahul Dravid or Ganguly batting for India at that time in Sachin’s place, cricket wouldn’t have had the same commercial appeal as it has now. Tendulkar is a part of the bigger picture of cricket. Measure the TRP ratings when Tendulkar comes into bat and measure them again if he gets out immediately. One will know the kind of impact he has. In the 1990’s he was Indian cricket team’s sole bread earner. He had to do what Lara did for West Indies, what Jayasuriya did for Sri Lanka and also what Bevan and Steve Waugh did for Australia. That was what was expected of him and it is probably still the case, though to a lesser extent. He is no superman. There should be some rationale behind how much we can put to test a person’s ability. And about Rahul Dravid being the best batsman of the last decade. Well, in the 1990’s when there were better bowlers and pitches were not as batsmen friendly, there were only 6 people who averaged more than 50 after scoring 1000 runs. Tendulkar is numero uno on that list. That list was put up on Cricinfo somewhile back. Excuse me if I got the exact content of the list wrong. Once Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman got going, things got easier for everyone. Each could feed off other’s form. That’s how a team game is played. Only a fool would feel the need to go all out even when there is so much stability around him. Being there in the middle of the pitch is the most important part. Don’t tell me Lara cared about it, at least all the time.
I just can’t imagine the commercial success of cricket in India if not for Sachin, which roughly translates to not being able to imagine cricket’s commercial success at a global level. By the time Dravids, Gangulys, Yuvrajs came into the team, the commercial revolution had already kicked off. What we see now is just the evolution.
Nevermind the pompous asses in here who in all probability have never even held a bat.
Sachin Tendulkar is the Greatest batsman of all time (with due respect to the Don).
You mentioned Gandhi……
Even he was shot wasnt he? So for every billion or so ppl you will always idiots like ‘steve’, ‘neilsrini’ etc above…who will never ever “get it”……you cant make everyone happy, it is simply not possible.
99.9% of the professionals and fans are more than enough.
the remaining .1! (who ,incindentally , are also often the loudest and crudest)….well they simply dont matter do they?
so why bother.
great article , and keep ’em coming.
I don’t know whether cricket is still a game of gentlemen but the couple of remarks to this article are anything but genial. The question is why is there a need for comparison at all? Just like you can’t compare oranges with apples there is no point comparing Sachin with Federer or for that matter any legend with anyone else. Somehow I feel this is chronic to sports only. I have never heard of Martin Luther King being compared to Gandhi , Titanic to Ben Hur or sadly say Saddam Hussein to Osama Bin Laden.
@ steve
As far as indio centric view is concerned, its an article written by an Indian about an extraordinary Indian and it his blogspace. What else do you expect?
@dileep
If Steve finds Beckham as his idol let it be . Why laugh on the already troubled poor soul?
Oh,and dileep,
never mind certain “screen names”…most of the daft comments will almost certainly be from certain particularly cultured and loving neighbours of india. that is a certainty.
as you mentioned, if you saw the incredible love,affection and respect shown to tendulkar in practically all countries- not the least recently in hyderabad,india- there can be no doubt about where exactly he stands in the game- without a doubt at the very top of the modern era, at least.
Nice Article Dileep, thanks!
As a cricketer Tendulkar has had immeasurable personal success. However, with or without him, as a team India has always underachieved with the exception of the 2007 T20 WC.
Id like to remember him for his innings in Chennai (Aus, Pak and recently Eng) and the one in SA, where him and Azhar reminded old timers of Barry Richards and Graeme Pollock spanking the Aussies in 1970, His sandstorm innings at Sharjah, and his innings against Pak at Centurion in the 2003 WC.
As regards to Steve, and others like him: just because you dont include him in your list of greats doesnt make him inferior to the others. Btw, you missed out Muhammad Ali, Steffi Graf and lots more.
And while we are at it, its Busby, Fergusson, Best, Charlton, Keane, Giggs, Cantona, Scholes, Beckham, followed by the rest in that order when it comes to Manchester United Legends
Learn to keep your opinions to yourself, especially if you have pointlessly silly things to say. Easy for you who’s got his butt in a couch in front of the tube or the chair in front of the PC and who has done nothing that comes close enough to what these legends have done. Surely you aren’t Steve Waugh or Steve McMahon (Liverpool) or Stevie Wonder.. So please.. cut the BS.
With you on that neilsrini,
wish keane and Giggs get knighted sooner than later.
Loved that part about Keane… Knee breaker. the best skipper
we’ve had.. ever. loved the man. Thanks for the memories keano..
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what Steve said. He expressed his opinion, and he’s entitled to that. This blog isn’t some Soviet Politburo where everyone needs to be in agreement!
Mr. Steve,
Before talking about ‘culture’ the basic point about culture is that you can disagree. But that does not mean that one shows disrespect.
FYI: Sachin has been criticized by many people. He has disagreed but never ever shown disrespect to one individual in his life time. That is culture for you. Not the way Mr. Ponting behaves on field. Again that is not an India-centric view but reality.
Probably that is a small lesson there for everybody. So before talking about culture’ and ‘perspective’ one should show a little bit more tolerance.
And then there is no need for the world to feel jealous about Sachin. Sachin has given us enough joy and happiness to last a life time. We do not need any validation from the world about Sachin’s worth.
Regards,
Dilip
Hey “Steve”
There’s an article by your precious Steve Waugh out right now – “A once-in-a-century star”.
Please read and LEARN.
When ignoramuses such as you start to expound shallow, biased and ignorant comments (coupled with a disgusting lack of civilised speech and decorum)- it is irritating to say the least.
It’s a strange sort of love we have for Sachin Tendulkar.
We know he is God (Ganguly’s off-side deification notwithstanding), but we are all too quick in looking for the feet of clay.
Some blame him for India’s record in the 90s, they point to his captaincy, that silly ferrari spat, and why not, atheists abound for a good reason. We (Sachin fans i.e.) are not the Thought Police, so yes, all of you skeptics (and even you cynics) are entitled to your opinions.
But after all that is said and done,
when Sachin walks off from the cricket field for the last time,
a country (and maybe the world as well) will shed tears of sorrow not seen since an assassin’s bullet silenced Gandhi.
Trust me.
Tendulkar is one of the greatest unifying factors in India after Gandhi.
I think he would rank in the same league as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as far as unifying Indians is concerned.
More than anything , the game of cricket has united all of us. Sachin Tendulkar was the catalyst. He brought so many people to the game.
Although we all have wasted so much time watching the game for days , a cricket match still rekindles the spirit of nationality among us.
He mayn’t have been as prolific in 2004-2008 as Rahul Dravid was , but Tendulkar is the greatest icon of India today. He is loved by every generation.
Credit also goes to his family , especially his brother and his wife. They have made it so easy for him that he can focus only on cricket.
There is a Bharat Ratna waiting for him when he retires …
Very emotional article……The man generates comparisons, critiques, adulation in equal measures. As far as him single handedly ruining Steve Waugh’s last test, I am not totally convinced. Waugh did manage to hold his own and secure a draw for the aussies. Perhaps that was the best send off for the man who for years was australia’s go to man in tight spots. As far as comparing sachin with other sports personalities i would believe a better comparison for longevity with quality would be Paolo Maldini.
No one can argue with the fact that Brian Lara was pure genius or that Ricky ponting is probably the finest aussie batsman of his generation but to understand what the sachin phenomenon means you have to be indian.
Addressing the culture issue, I agree with steve …..no one associates west indian swagger with any one else other than west indians……aussies have their determination….england have their south africans (lol)…..every country has their own distinct sporting culture…..The teams from the sub continent have always relied on geniuses to further their causes . Wasim, Inzi and Imran for Pakistan 1992 WC ….DeSilva, Jayasuriya for SL ..
The important fact is that great players adapt to changes a lot better than others. To my mind the difference between a great player and a good player is the ability to outlast, outthink and outmanouver your opponent consistently…
And as bill Shakespeare said “some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them”……Place your heroes in the appropriate categories
which is HIS best test innings
1)241 against aussies at sydney 04
2)136 against pak chennai 99
3)114 against aussies perth 92
4)155* against aussies chennai98
5)103* against england chennai 08
I think 103 against Eng . Chennai 08. My Response is in pure cricketing terms It was a must win game else the series was a goner. It was in the 4th Innings chase ( any International Batsman will vouch for the challenge in a 4th innnings chase ). It came in the 19th yr of Tendulkar’s international Career demonstrating his Longevity and necessity in the Team !!!.
And above all Tendulkar showed what He Was capable of doing if he was just given a bit of support. Many More Test Wins went begging while Tendulkar had to do it all on his own.
Steve notwithstanding… Tendulkar is certainly well-loved by the crowds here in Australia, and is without doubt the best batsman currently playing (better than the Don, well, I don’t think I could say that; please excuse my cultural biases :3 ).
A sterling player who seemingly played the better as the odds stacked against him worsened.
never has my point been so aptly proven than today.
http://www.cricinfo.com/indvsl2009/engine/current/match/430881.html
Sport is emotional (amongst other things) so I love to read the power of that emotion in its chroniclers – thanks Dileep. I was a Sachin sceptic for a long time – I saw a lot of the 241 and admired the iron will, but I was watching because I couldn’t bear to go to bed when VVS was batting vs Australia!
That changed for me at Chennai, when KP’s England did the right thing and returned to play the Test and play like they hadn’t since 2005 at home and, well, never away. With all that was in his own mind and the minds of his countrymen, Sachin delivered the win – great sport from a great sportsman.
Very nice article Dileep, but I don’t think it’s amongst your best. You suffer from the same thing that Tendulkar does – with so much quality output, you sometimes have set impossible standards for yourself! 🙂
I’ve written a piece in a similar vein if anyone wants to check it out:
the new era of poetry
i wrote
about sachin tendulkar
my favourites forever
this is about sachin
sachin sachin little star
how i wonder what u are
up above the ball’s so high
like a sixer in the sky
—— anilkumarjohans@gmail.com
Hey steve, wassup mate? why the silence?