My ode to the Master Blaster.!!

Ok, the festivity may have already come to an end for me. India has built up a sizable lead. In all probability we are going to win by an innings. I would not want Sachin to come back and bat. This was good, if not better. Yes, I would have loved to see a century from the Master. But that's ok. It doesn't matter. Even if he had gone for a duck or scored a century or even a double century, we would always want more from him. We can never get enough of this man.

We have seen so many play this beautiful game. Many rise up to a level attained by only a few. And each time such a player exits from the game, we feel sad. But him? For Sachin it just doesn't stop at being sad and disappointed. It goes beyond that. We mourn. For we don't just love him. We adore him. We worship him. When he walked back to the pavilion today, it was not just an end of an era. It was end of something much more beautiful. The sweet memories of our childhood with which most Indians grew up with. He was walking away with a part of us.

And I can't identify just a thing or two that I will miss the most. That cover drive or the square cut. That paddle sweep or the upper cut. The way he comes down the pitch to loft the ball straight over the bowler's head for a six or the way he comes on to the front foot to hit that straight drive. When he is in full flow, it's like a poetry in motion. Beautiful, elegant yet destructive. And when he scores a century, the feeling is described best only by the word 'Euphoria'. Or may be just him standing on the non-striker's end, leaning on his bat, his left arm on his hips. Like I read somewhere, 'Will we ever see such a sight again?'

No matter how much I try, I can't put all that I feel into words. Words fail us sometimes. And I'm happy that it does so, right now. What can we mere mortals, who can't handle the expectations of few people and feel pressurised say about a man who has handled the expectations of nearly a billion people for over 2 decades. Succeeding more often than not. What can we mere mortals, most of us who don't even have a single achievement to talk about say about a man who owns almost all the major records of the sport. What will we mere mortals, whose entire lives have not influenced more than a few hundreds if not thousands, talk about a man whose 24yrs career has touched so many people that we can't even imagine. He transcends normalcy. And in that transcendence, he became the titular 'God'.

For all that joy he has given us, we have nothing but #ThankyouSachin in return. And he accepts it gratefully. Such is his humility. And when I go to sleep tonight, I know cricket will not be the same for me and million others like me from tomorrow. For I know, from now, whenever India plays I will not be able to ask 'How much did Sachin Tendulkar score?'. But I will reminisce about all the sweet memories and cherish them. And indulge in the nostalgia with the help of youtube videos and television replays.

And once again, #ThankyouSachin.!!