On a day like today.....

Everyone speculates about these days often, I believe. The day Amitabh Bacchan would die, the day Viswanathan Anand would retire, the day Roger Fedarer would hang up his racket, and so on.

But there is something common about these days. No matter how much we speculate, they are never quite like what anyone imagines. They have become so synonymous with what they do, that no one can really contemplate what the field would be without them. And there's some thing else that is common about these days. Almost always, people discover a new reason why they have become more than mere human beings, why they have become legands.
For me, this happened over a conversation with my wife on the day Sachin Tendulkar walked the 22 yards for the last time.

24 years. Its been a long time. In fact, for me, its been forever. I have learnt to identify players by the time when Sachin played with them. I have learnt to admire bowlers by how many times they got him out. I have learnt to remember sandstorms by a 5'6'' figure standing alone in the field.
But, the true magic of Sachin Tendulkar does not lie in mesmerising people who love cricket. It lies in mesmerizing those who do not.
In my school days, I remember mocking girls in my school, who took a personal insult towards the bowlers who bowled a bouncer to Sachin, or wanted to bang the head of the bowler who got him out. And they did not do it for anyone else. Some of them didn't even know who Rahul Dravid or VVS Laxman was, or even that Washim Akram was a left arm fast bowler!!!! It might be an Indian thing, but still, they shared the hypnosis with us, just for this man.

Its on a day like today, that you realize this.

Its on a day like today, you realize how a legend has touched you. I remember, since when my brother was old enough to shout, my dad, mom, me and him were in a constant battle over the television remote.
The only exception was when Sachin was batting. My brother sitting on my dad's lap, my mother glued to the television, - for once not scolding dad for smoking in front of us, me with the pillow under my chest., every eye unblinking, every lip moving in silent prayers, and everyone absolutely still, in case changing posture brings a bad luck. Its probably the one of the closest family bonding memory I have.
Its on a day like today, that every Indian prays for Chris Gayle to score a double century, so that they can see the 5'4" figure walking towards the 22 yards, one last time.
That is why Sachin cannot be defined by the game, he has to be defined by the inspiration.
That is why Sachin is not great, he is a legand.
The common misconception is if cricket is a religion, Sachin is God. It is just not possible.
No god would have such a fan following outside his religion.

Oh, and there's something else common about these days.
Eyes moist, voices choke, and words fail. At the back of the mind for every Indian, there's one nagging, lingering voice, very similar to a dad saying goodbye to his newly married daughter.
"Couldn't it be delayed for a few more days?"
There are probably no words for what Sachin was, or will be to cricket. I very consciously not talked about his batting, his dignity and the integrity it inspired. I can never thank Sachin enough for that.
But on a day like today, I would want to thank Sachin for the memories, and the fairy tales he left us to tell our grandchildren.
"Long long ago, but not very far away, there lived a little god........."