Something’s Not Right

So Sachin finally got his 100^th century. Well, wooo hooooo. Time to celebrate, uncork the bubbly, let the beer flow. After all we need something to celebrate, so what if we lost the match to Bangla Desh and a few others as well. Those Australians are unsporting anyway. During the England tour there were reasons why we lost. It happens, baba. Koi baat nahin. But see, our Sachin has got his century after waiting so long.

Like every other Indian, I too am pleased at Sachin’s feat. I am happy for him that he has reached where no man has gone before. But I cannot suppress the feeling of disappointment at the manner in which he has achieved this landmark. The outpouring of treacle and honey coated praise in the papers is sickeningly sweet much like the overpowering sweetness of the neighborhood halwai’s wares. What is it in our culture that sends us into ecstasy while heaping praise on a favored son or daughter.

Anyone who is someone is trying hard to jump on to the bandwagon of praise for Sachin, for that is what has been currently deemed to be socially and politically correct behavior.

I’m sorry, I seem to have missed the point completely, for I had assumed that the purpose of playing matches was to win. Somewhere buried in the pages of accolades for the master was an innocuous article that had the mundane title of  “Bangladesh Shock India”. Was the master’s achievement more important than the fact that we lost the match? Has our disastrous showing in Australia and England paled into insignificance? Have we as cricket fans degenerated to the level of alcoholics and druggies who must get their daily fix, irrespective of where it comes from and its consequences.

Sample some of the articles in leading dailies today. The TOI in a prominent article has tried to draw a parallel between Sachin and other athletes like Jesse Owens, Roger Bannister, Nadia Comaneci, Pele, Michael Phelps and Lance Armstrong. Seems a bit like comparing apples and oranges. Other than the great Pele, the rest were individual athletes. Breaking another record or winning one more medal was all that mattered and they achieved their greatness overcoming their own inner demons. If they won, they grabbed the roses, if they lost, well, it was back to practice. But Sachin was and is, above all a team player and the team’s win takes precedence over individual greatness.

This is what Ravi Shastri had to say, “Life can be normal now”. In that case can we now start winning some matches? He goes on to say about Sachin, “whenever you met him, you sensed the air heavy with the unsaid question”, alluding to the elusive century. Does it not matter that national prestige was left in tatters by the miserable show, first in England and later in Australia, to the extent that the leadership qualities of Indians were doubted.

Some say that he waited 22 years for this feat. No crap? Did he on the very first day he stepped out in Indian colors, decide that he was going to score 100 centuries? Excuse me media and people, that was you looking at him through blinkered and rose tinted glasses. As for Sachin, all he ever wanted to do was play cricket. And we, cricket’s crazy fans didn’t make it any easier for the man by egging him on to give us our prasad, so that we could have something to talk about while going to work, in the lift and particularly during stand-easy, that wonderfully illustrative naval term for a tea break.

During the 1999 World Cup in England, unfortunately his father passed away. He came home while the entire nation clucked sorrowfully at his misfortune. Nobody dared question that he missed the match against Zimbabwe, which we lost. Of course everyone remembers that next match against Kenya where he scored an unbeaten 140, while the entire tribe of cricket-nuts said so courageous of Sachin, kya aadmi hai. Never mind that it was against lowly Kenya.

Now may I remind you dear Bharatwasi, of one more occurrence at that time. May 1999 was when the Kargil war was at its peak. Leave for soldiers everywhere was curtailed. Those boys up there were also representing their country. They too wore India’s colors albeit of a different form. Surely there must have been some among them who suffered the same misfortunes at home and would have wanted to go home. Should they have been allowed to go home on leave? Certainly not, their team had to win, national prestige was at stake!

I believe Sachin must be relieved that the immense pressure on him is off and he can now get down to the business of making his team win. His difficulty in moving the 99^th to the 100^th century is a pointer towards his mortality. I think the best thing he said was, “I am not God, I am Sachin Tendulkar”. Well said, Sachin. That shows your greatness. Now would you please tell that crazed idiot, the Indian cricket fan, that any further centuries would be purely incidental and that you would be playing for the team’s victory.