In the history of Indian Cricket, no one has had a fan following - more than a billion - larger than Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 49th birthday today - 24 April 2022 - and on this occasion I am reminded of three Cricket Connects exhibitions ( South Africa, Australia and England), which I had the honour to be associated with as co curator for the South Africa exhibition and as Curator for Australia and England exhibitions. I fondly recollect how we presented Sachin Tendulkar in these three exhibitions, which were developed under the auspices of the cultural exchange program of the Ministry of Culture, between India and these three countries. I also fondly remember an exhibition, ‘Deconstructed Innings - A Tribute to Sachin Tendulkar’, which I had the honour to host at the NGMA Mumbai, when I was the Director of NGMA Mumbai. This exhibition presented an artistically deconstructed innings of Sachin Tendulkar. Ten eminent artists were chosen by the organisers to interact with Sachin Tendulkar to create art installations in different medium to present a deconstructed innings of the legend, using the language of art and its creativity.
Cricket Fans, not just in India but all across the globe, keep the spirit of Sachin alive long after he has laid his bat to rest. He has connected Indians to cricket and to his own play more than anyone else in the history of this game, which unites all Indians. His performance used to be the reason for whole country's happiness or sadness. Harsha Bhogle, an erudite and highly respected commentator, once said "India sleeps well when Sachin plays well”. The crazy and unsportsmanly attitude of the crowd at the Eden Garden during the semi-final world cup match against Sri Lanka after Sachin was out stands testimony to the dependence of the cricket fans on Sachin.
For the ‘Cricket Connects - India Australia’ exhibition, which was presented at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia, I had chosen a common connect that the two countries share in cricket - Hero Worship. Australia idolizes and worships Sir Don Bradman - whose achievements remain unparalleled and near impossible - as their hero. Sachin Tendulkar, who himself is a hero worshipper of the legendary Don, is similarly idolised and hero worshipped by Indians all across the globe. This section was covered under the heading ‘ The God (Sachin Tendulkar) and the Gods God ( Don Bradman)’. In the 1930's, with the country in deep economic depression and still grieving for the thousands killed in World War I, Bradman's achievements were a cause for Australian National pride. The spirit of the Don is evidenced from a statement by the former Prime Minister of Australia, John
Howard, a cricket lover, who, during his visit to Sir Donald a few days before his death, said ''He had a great impact on Australian life, especially during the desperate years of the Depression. His prowess on the cricket field lifted the hopes and spirits of the people, who at times felt they had little else.''
The Nobel Laureate, Nelson Mandela, also the recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour of India, was an avid follower of the Bradman. One of Mandela’s first questions to the former Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, when Fraser met him in Cape Town’s Polls Moor Prison in 1986, was, “Tell me, Mr Fraser is Donald Bradman still alive?” Such was the charm and following of Bradman all across the globe. Four years later, when Mandela was released from the prison, Fraser handed over Don’s signed bat for Mandela, which read “To Nelson Mandela in recognition of a great unfinished innings – Don Bradman".
Sachin Tendulkar is to India what Bradman has been to Australia. Sachin has carried the hopes and aspirations of one billion plus Indian cricket fans for all of 23 long years that he played the game. Sachin’s unparallel achievements and his simplicity and humility have aided his cricket fans to placing him on a God’s pedestal. This was evidenced in one of the beautiful art installations which was featured in the exhibition at NGMA Mumbai. Sachin’s fan following and his reverential position was mirrored in the painting titled “Arrival of a Cricket God” by Manjunath Kamath. This work formed a part of an exhibition “Deconstructed Innings: A tribute to Sachin Tendulkar” that was exhibited at the premier art institute of the country the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai. The artist essays the birth of Sachin to be an auspicious occasion where little Sachin is blessed by the mythical godly figures. The artist draws his inspiration from Indian Calendar Art, popular culture, and epics to celebrate the legendary stature of Sachin Tendulkar and presents a visual imagery, which includes metaphoric mythical elements that is juxtaposed with the childhood image of Sachin’s arrival at the centre. There is also a book titled “If Cricket is Religion, Sachin is God” written by Vijay Santhanam and S B Subramanyam, which also juxtaposes the position of Cricket and Sachin for Indians.
When was Sachin played for India, more often than not, India’s chances for success rested on his shoulders. Entire stadium erupted at the very sight of seeing the little master walk out to the wicket from the pavilion and the very crowd entered into a deadly silence, and often emptying the stands, when the bowler got the better of Sachin. Sachin was born in Mumbai, on 24April, 1973 in Dadar. Shivaji Park where the last rites of Lata Mangeshkar - one of the who’s who of India who were the fans of Sachin Tendulkar - were performed was also the place where Sachin played cricket. The city of Mumbai and so also Dadar has a very rich cricket history. In another art work titled “The City of Dreams” exhibited at NGMA, Artist – Remen Chopra, presented a sculptural representation of Sachin’s Cricket career, in a skyline of his city of dreams - Mumbai - that is symbolic of his unprecedented achievements on the field.
Many of Sachin’s fans have come dangerously close to believing that Tendulkar is/was God. Certainly much of Tendulkar’s batting seemed like a gift from above. But the impression short-changes him for no one worked harder to hone his natural talent. Sachin, who is a devout Hindu, does not like the comparison to God. In one of his recent interaction with his adoring fans he said that he "is not a god as he makes mistakes and gods do not", but that had little impact on many of his fans. Every 'God' has his share of non-believers. The great Sachin too had some. Some critics started writing his epithet when he was past 35. He bounced back and proved his critics - who
had coined a new phrase ‘End’ulkar, to signal the end of Tendulkar, wrong. At the age of 37, he had his most fertile year (2010); scoring more than 1500 Test runs in a year and also achieved a feat not witnessed until that point of time in cricketing history, a double century in an ODI.
Among his innumerable fans, one man, Mr Sudhir Chaudhary, from Odisha is conspicuous. He used to be seen with his whole body painted with the colours of the national flag and at the bottom were the three golden words: 'the god of cricket'. Like a true disciple, he has followed Tendulkar wherever he went. Likewise there are several other diehard fans of Sachin who are equally passionate about their idol, including one Mr.Manu Singh, from Australia, Pavan Kumar from Hyderabad and Hasnain Masood from UAE, who continue to keep the spirit of Sachin alive. The exhibition “Deconstructed Innings” at the NGMA is an outcome of the reverence that Indians have
for their idol.
Sachin’s great deeds were foretold when he was still a boy, the lofty predictions scarcely allowing for sport’s inherent caprice. And incredibly, beginning with the debut series in 1989, the legend has fulfilled all but the wildest of predictions. The pressure to succeed every single time, the claustrophobia that comes with every little action being scrutinised can
scarcely be conceived. And yet Tendulkar wore it with lightness and dignity, making brilliance a commonplace and unremarkable.
Sachin has been bestowed with innumerable recognition honours and awards including the coveted Bharat Ratna, which he received in February 2014. Alongside all his accolades Sachin Tendulkar has preserved his treasured honour, which comprises a set of thirteen coins he earned from his coach – Ramakant Achrekar. These special coins were depicted in a art work titled “Treasure Box” by Trilochan Anand, in the NGMA Mumbai exhibition.
At the World Cups, Sachin was more prolific than anywhere else. His total tally at the World Cups (2278 Runs) is 30.6% greater than his closest and arch rival Ricky Ponting (1743 runs). And if you think he has played more, he has played 1 match less than Ponting in WCs. Sachin has to his credit 6 centuries and 21 half tons in World Cup. Sachin’s achievements can best be summarised in the words of Ponting who wrote in his forward for a book titled Tendulkar in Wisden: An Anthology, “For me, he's the greatest batsman after Don Bradman. While I hold Brian Lara in high regard, because of his match winning ability, I don't think any batsman can achieve more out of the game than Sachin has".
Sachin also has to his credit an unprecedented record of scoring 100 hundreds in international matches. He has played in a record 200 Tests and he continues to be the highest scorer in both Tests and ODI. He also ho,da several other records, which are hard to conquer. Sachin however had to wait for a long time to get to his 100th hundred. He says “When I got to my 100th international century, I was not jumping or celebrating. My first question to God was why did it take so long? What did I do wrong? With a billion plus people waiting for this, it shouldn’t have taken so long”.
Sachin played 664 international matches in 24 years. It means around 27.67 matches per year and still maintained an average of approximately 44 and 54 in ODIs and Tests respectively. Although Sachin’s average is less than Bradman’s, the matches that Sachin Tendulkar played are way higher and so also the pressure and fan expectations under which he played the games. His consistency, keeping in mind his longevity in the game, the varying opponents and conditions, is probably the best at the international stage.
Cricket is said to be a game dominated by the batsmen. Although the argument is debatable, it seems more than partially true to the naked eye. Our human mind is programmed to relate and picturise events, ideas, objects and persons. So whenever the word 'batsman' pops up, we either relate to Sachin Tendulkar or Sir Donald Bradman.
Cricket to Sachin was not just a game but a 'word of God’. He is the reason cricket has become like a religion in India and every child in the 90s was born with an innate passion for cricket. Today as Sachin celebrates his 49th birthday here is wishing him a very happy birthday. May you continue up to inspire millions and may you co to use to be remembered.
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