A great man once said, "Your life hangs by a rope. You never want the rope to break. What happens if it does break? You don't know. You can try it or you'd never know what lies ahead." This is what my first year at work taught me.
If fresh graduates were dogs, I was one of those dogs who put their tongues out with the expectation of an awesome kick-start to their job career. I landed in Mumbai, enthused with the prospect of working for a company which is, arguably, a respectable one. At the same time, I was apprehensive of what I had left behind: a part of my life which I so desperately wanted to re-live. Of course, there are some desires that never get fulfilled.
I suddenly found myself up against a fast-paced environment which, in its entirety, was strikingly difficult to cope up with. People seemed content dealing with travel snarls and jam-packed local trains after spending some of their most harrowing days at work. Even the word 'analyst' never lived up to its euphemistic etymology: a person who 'analyzes'. In my opinion, the word had originated from a four-lettered slang visible within it. In short, everything seemed wrong.
A year passed by. The city looks the same. The people look the same. But, perspective changes. When I look back at what I had experienced in the past year, I ask myself, "Was it really that bad?" Even after embarrassments, heart-breaks and epic failures that unfolded, I'm happy to have experienced everything (not in a sadistic point of view). In corporate culture, even schadenfreude is as ethical as abstinence from "insider trading". Every random thing seems perfect now.
In the end, it all comes down to how you judge your life. Would you have been happy yesterday to see yourself in this position today? If yes is your answer, you are incredibly lucky. Otherwise, you might need to realize that you don't live in Utopia.
There is a gentle charm in watching Sachin Tendulkar bat. There is a patient charm in waiting for his turn to come. And when he does bat, there is a tense charm, the fear that he might get out and the charm would end. Yet, you watch him bat. There is a gloomy charm while he is at the non-striker's end, the charm that he would not get out off this ball but he is not the one at the striker's end. And, when he gets out, there is a charming eagerness to wait for the next match. You know you can watch him bat only after a few days. There is a certain joy in watching him score runs. Centuries can only prolong that joy. And when records are broken, you enjoy recollecting the memories of those happy moments he has showered upon you.
Today, I was sitting on the edge of my seat, chewing 'peanuts' so steadily as if they were chewing-gums. My heart was beating nervously and eyes were anxiously fixed to my computer screen. I kept pressing the 'Refresh' tab on Google Chrome. The page at cricinfo.com was taking ages to reload. Tendulkar was on strike, batting on 99. It seemed as if the ever-so-lively environment at my workplace had suddenly come to a standstill. Then came the moment... the moment much awaited by the cricket fraternity. I heaved a sigh of relief.
The moment has been experienced many a times by Tendulkar, but never was it so special. The fact that it was his 100th international century didn't make it a special one. To add to this, the innings was in no way a reflection of how Tendulkar bats. It was a meticulously executed exorcism of the devils playing in his mind. And, even the man himself must have heaved a sigh of huge relief after getting to the milestone.
100 international centuries is a 'cosmetic' statistic, contrived so cleanly by the media that it was on the heart and mind of every cricket fan for more than a year. Then, what made this century special? It was because it made us believe that even Tendulkar is fallible, that he is mere human. If you go by statistics, this century didn't make him any greater than what he already was. But, if you go by emotions, it certainly raised him to another level of greatness.
This century was long overdue. Of late, Tendulkar seemed to be in sublime touch but just wasn't able to get the big one. Every now and then, he would give a feeling that a big knock was around the corner. But, he just couldn't get to the finish line. Such is sports!
What next? All of a sudden, the same journalists who were calling the shots for Tendulkar's retirement started talk-shows to congratulate him. Tendulkar was glorified, but for a mere three and a half hours, after which they starting referring to him as "Match ka mujrim" (the culprit of the match). Such is the Indian media!
Anyway, Tendulkar made me feel proud today. No article can be enough to describe him. I can very well write a book on him. But, for now, it gave me a joyful hour thinking about him.
Hats off to the legend! He is here to stay.
"Enjoy your game and chase your dreams. Dreams do come true." -Sachin Tendulkar
Last evening, Jamie Alter came up with a bold piece of shit: For God's sake, Tendulkar, just go. In a nation where cricket is considered to be a religion, his piece is tantamount to blasphemy. As a matter of fact, I respect Alter's freedom of expression. I have utmost respect for his courage to come up with such a bold article. But, I felt irked by something that was missing in an otherwise perfect write-up. Rationality, it was.
Mr. Alter, I agree with you that the 100th international century is a meaningless pursuit. It might be affecting Tendulkar's batting. But, is it justified to say that it is affecting the performance of the Indian team? Tendulkar can be blamed for not having been at his best in Australia. But, is it right to blame him for the poor performances of ten others? And yet, you say you're rational.
Everyone of us wants Tendulkar to leave the game respectfully. But, it isn't up to us to decide his fate. We don't even have the right or authority to question his retirement plans. And, for the record, he still isn't greater than the game. Had he been, he would never have agreed to the "bogus" rotation policy [which asks him to warm the bench once every three matches]. And, if the inclusion of Tendulkar for the CB series was solely aimed at giving him further rope for scoring the three-figure knock, the rotation policy would never have applied to him. Now, I'm being irrational, ain't I?
Good bowling (and not necessarily good bowlers) gets rewarded with wickets. Tendulkar has been dismissed 401 times in ODIs before this CB series, not always by great bowlers. Yet, Mr. Alter criticizes him for having fallen to the likes of Mitchell Stark, Angelo Mathews and Nuwan Kulasekara. Mr. Alter, do you mean to say that no mediocre bowler should ever claim Tendulkar's wicket? Does this seem rational? And, as a matter of fact, when any player walks back to the dressing room, he is isolated and his head is held down (unless he gets dismissed off the final delivery of a session).
The hype over 100 international centuries was never created by the man himself; it is the over-sentimental Indian media who is the culprit. I agree with the opinion that 99 international centuries is as good as 100. This 100 wouldn't make him any greater than what he already is. But, it is his love for the game that still keeps him around. Rationality, who cares?
A couple of days ago, there was another such article, written by Suresh Menon, who mentioned that it was Tendulkar who educated a generation into thinking that statistics are more important than anything else. So, what I could infer from his statement is that batsmen never celebrated their individual contributions to the game in the pre-Tendulkar era. < Face-palm >
I ain't a cricket pundit but what I can remember is that someone (definitely, a commentator) said that Tendulkar plays one-day cricket because it helps him re-discover his form. We are nobody to question his retirement plans. Not until BCCI comes up with a worthy replacement. Another legend, Saurav Ganguly, was allegedly forced to retire from international cricket in 2008. We still don't have someone who can be even half as good as he was. I don't see any such replacement for Tendulkar in the near future. And, I don't want to see Tendulkar's career ending in that fashion. Folks, let him decide when to quit.
And we're nobody to decide whether making himself available for the CB series was all about getting that 100th century. I'd still hope he gets that much-awaited century in this series. He isn't God. But, he is trying his best to succeed.
"Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don't know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their television sets and switch off their lives."
-BBC Sports
