A cricketing enthusiast need not ask me why I have this portrait of SRT's as my cover image. I should say I had to make a compromise to this cover image as I was unable to fetch the image of the famous bullet drive against LEE in VB Series 2008 down under. Its might be last WORLD CUP innings of SRT in his home ground and I ought to take a sneak peak into this man's cricketing career and sit back and cherish all those defining moments. Should this long unfulfilled dream come true on this destiny-defining day on his home ground? If yes, it will be celebrated as the cro­wning glory of a glittering career.

It is great plesure to write a piece about a cricketing legend who never played in under 19 league, going straight to the seniors. In the most stupid and brutal format of the game, Tendulkar still shows that class is above raw power. He conquers every Indian heart being a silent prayer… he brings us together in the worst of times… he has the aura to touch the sky and at the same time the humility to stay grounded… with so much of fame and success, only he can do it…many have come and gone but the era of Sachin still cherishes each individual heart irrespective of his religion and social status...No matter how much he is becoming older it seems he keeps on adding feathers to his cap--> take his double century last year for example. His hunger for runs is getting bigger by the day and the main point is still enjoying his game, leaving a mark wherever he goes.

Tendulkar hates losing. It reminds me of a TT incident that happened between Sidhu and Sachin when they were touring Sri Lanka,,, how he mastered and defeated Sidhu at last. For him there is this sight that each situation needs to be mastered, the opponent to be numbed. "It's this challenge that drives him." It is elevating not oneself but an entire sport, it is stretching the envelope of possibility, it is all this desire that lurks within Sachin Tendulkar. Despite all the riches that have come his way, he never lost sight of his job unlike Brain Lara, Shane Warne ,,Vinod Kambli, scoring runs for his country. This is easier said than done. He remained true to his quest for perfection even in this edition of World cup 2011 and there were times when he got awfully close----> the World cup 2003.

Today, in few hours time span we will witness the greatest triumph or tragedy of the greatest batsman of this generation. And it will be a story for the ages. Cant c him lose from here on. Carrying the burden of 1.2 billion people is not easy. As Sachin Tendulkar turns 38 this month I express my love and gratitude for the cricketing genius and Hope God answers my prayers and a new chapter is written in Indian cricketing history on 2nd April 2011..
a die hard SIR fan --asim Ambrish padh

Strolling, bare foot on them, It feels we'have wondered to far now we can't remember where we left our shoes..
Our heels were soft when we got here. They still feel tender. Till those bitter memories keep tingling them.
True we've forgotten where we have removed our shoes..But now it seems we don't need them anymore--- Udaan

Needless to underline, my recent trip to Mumbai brought out a phantasmagoria of thoughts, emotions, memories, images and feelings of times spent in the sylvan setting of the Shailesh Apartment in Borivali, Mumbai-India. When all of us were young boys with more than a smearing of innocence on our souls. When life was one long beautiful unhurried dream. When life played itself out in the confines of our personal world where the smallest things gave us the greatest joy; we all were in our own sweet world no matter what happened.

And I spoke of the good times we had, the innocent middle class fun we partook of as young boys, I couldn’t help but notice through the window of my apartment

“THAT THE WORLD IS MARCHING INEXORABLY”

Times are changing. Priorities are being churned. What was novel yesterday is junk today. What was relevant yesterday is unrecognizable today. Fashions go out of, well, fashion, even before you’ve tried out your new outfit after rushing home from the glitzy Inorbit mall on the Malad Goregaon Link road. Consumerism seems to be scaling new heights by the day, raising the bar of expectations, heightening desire and want not.

All are in a hurry. In a rush for ever. Be it relationships or auto rickshaws. They invariably know not where they are going. But they imagine they are on their way. Where life’s success is entirely dependent on your ability to climb on to the 7.15 am Churchgate local, if you’re a Mumbaikar. Used to be 8.15 but now that the Share market have started to open at 9.00 :)

At this frame of mind my vision is blurred, as I try to see through tears collecting up in my eyes. I am still shaking my head at the loss of old times. What a beautiful life that was and how I yearn to go back. Feels like the heartache from my first crush, tragically sweet.

“Bachpan to gaya
Jawani bhi gayi
Ek pal to ab humein
Jeene do jeene do”

This seems to be the overriding message of Raju Hirani's light hearted and humorous film '3 Idiots’ that 'Life is all about listening to your heart and following your dreams' rather life being a race and if you do not run fast, others will pip you to the post. Life is one enigmatic journey. An enigma of its own kind. Each life is distinguished with its own set of characteristics, and uniqueness. Sometimes, the uniqueness of this journey makes it a tinge more complicated than its individual parts. And maybe at those times, fighting and moving ahead becomes essential. So essential that you cannot breathe unless you have made some silent yet huge compromises with your own self. And still, this journey which makes you do so much to yourself is enigmatic. And there is nothing even questioning the glory of this beautifully caked up walk in the natural plastic garden called “Human world”. For me life has changed a lot from then till now.

Then 1:-
--Blessed the earth on 14th November 1986. First son of my parents and hence a little pampered, especially by dad.


Now 1:-
--The day I blessed the earth remains the same. As far as my demands are concerned, there is slight change in the demands ...Maybe it is a little selfish on my part but I wish to be left out of all the mess. I want to be alone!

Then 2:-
--I cannot see two people quarrelling. I have this bad habit of poking my nose in other people’s business and making peace or at least trying to make peace.

Now 2:-
--I still cannot see two people fighting but now I do not poke my nose in between, have learned it that hard way.

Then 3:-
--I am very short-tempered and before I know that the temper is rising I hit the roof. I used to be a big mouth when angry but past few years, my angry moments are the most silent ones.

Now 3:-
--I am still short tempered BUT ... The bouts of anger have reduced a lot, thanks to a friend and trust me this makes life much easier. I have improved a lot! The tantrums have minimized, banging fists completely stopped :) so this means, you can come close to me when I am angry and you won't need a helmet :)

Then 4:-
--Friendships mean a lot for me. Though I have few close friends, I am friendly to everyone.

Now 4:-
--Even now, Friendships mean a lot for me. Often it has happened that my friendliness is taken in a wrong way by a few people and then unfortunately I have to get back into my shell, I need to do that for both myself and the opposite person.

Then 5:-
--I believe in flowing with the tide and take each day as it comes. But, there are moments when I reminisce about the past. The [g]olden days when I was a kid and was not exposed to the dreadful truths of life

Now 5:-
--I still believe in flowing with the tide. Believe in living in today. I have also learned that I can improve my tomorrow by the deeds of today and not repeat mistakes of the past.

Then 6:-
I am a nocturnal kind of person. I can stay awake the whole night but never get up early in the morning. I love to stay awake at night, watch the first ray of light and wish good morning to the sun and then sleep. When the whole world is asleep and I stay awake, it gives me peace of mind I cannot describe in words.

Now 6:-
--I am still a nocturnal kind of animal :) God knows if that is ever going to change!

That is all for now, 2 am here and now I intend to catch some sleep listening to music and hugging my new teddy “Iggy”. Oh God! How did I forget to tell you this? At 23, I still hug my pillow and sleep ;)) Got to go, pillow calling--aAp

The Constitution only guarantees the people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself. ~Benjamin Franklin

One day, the young lion asked his mom:

"Mom, where is the happiness?"

Mom replied:

"It's on your tail."

So the young lion keeps on Chasing after his tail. But after a whole day of trying, he failed to get the happiness that was on his tail. Then he told his mom about this,

His mom smiled and said:

"Son, you don't really
Need to chase after your happiness, as long as
You keep going and moving forward, your
Happiness will always be with you
Wish everyone of you find your happiness"


---> You can't decide the length of life, but you can
---> Control how you want to live it.
---> You can't control the weather, but you can control your mood.
---> You can't change your look, but you can smile to change your appearance.
---> You can't control others, but you can control yourself.
---> You can't foresee tomorrow, but you can utilize today wisely.
---> You can't win everything, but you can try your very best to achieve that.

Hope everyone can face the daily life positively and always happy...

Padhji!!!!!!

I ought to post this thing on my blog...To many he is a legend but 2 me he is God!!!!!!

@Navjot Singh Sidhu
India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par
Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte..

@Border : Well yes, but imagine what he'll be like when he's 28. I'd like to see him go out and bat one day with a stump. I tell you he'd do okay.".

@Steve Waugh: "You take Don Bradman away and he is next up I reckon."

@Adam Hollioke: "In an over I can bowl six different balls. But then Sachin looks at me with a sort of gentle arrogance down the pitch as if to say 'Can you bowl me another one?'"

@Shane Warne: "I'll be going to bed having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six. He was unstoppable. I don't think anyone, apart from Don Bradman, is in the same class as Sachin Tendulkar. He is just an amazing player."

@Hashim Amla
"Nothing bad can happen to us if we're on a plane in India with Sachin
Tendulkar on it."
Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a
flight

@Andrew Symonds wrote on an aussie t-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin "To Sachin, the man we all want to be"


@BBC on Sachin
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 TV sets and switch off their
lives "


@Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq
"Tuzhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?" when the latter dropped Sachin's catch.

@Brian Charles Lara again
Sachin is a genius. I'm a mere mortal.

@Mark Taylor
"We did not lose to a team called India...we lost to a man called Sachin" -
Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

@M. L. Jaisimha:
"The more I see of him the more confused I'm getting to which is his best
knock."

@McGrath
"The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which
he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility -
all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,"

@Wife Anjali
"I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute
longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out
there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,"

@HAYDEN -
"I HAVE SEEN GOD, HE BATS AT NO.4 FOR INDIA"

@Tendulkar's daughter, Sara
"Even my father's name is Sachin Tendulkar."
tells her class her father's name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai

@KUMBLE
I am fortunate that I've to bowl at him only in the nets!

@ shahrukh
quoting Shahrukh from an interview
Que: Who do you think as most important celebrity ?
Shahrukh: There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket were
invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching
Amitabh Bachhan.
Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a
grab of the GENIUS!!

@waqar younis
He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also .

@ a banner once said-
'I WILL SEE GOD WHEN I DIE BUT TILL THEN I WILL SEE SACHIN ' that quiet defines Sachin-The greatest.

@Allan Donald
Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has
many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the
world

I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from
point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting i told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and i know a way to pin Sachin. And i delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. And i shouted catch. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best i have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast u wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.

@Peter Rebouck - aussie journalist
On a train from Shimla to Delhi, there was a halt in one of the stations.
The train stopped by for few minutes as usual.
Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway
officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century.
This Genius can stop time in India!!

@NKP Salve, former Union Minister
This was when he was accused of ball tempering
"Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to
politics. It's clear discrimination. "

@Andy Flower:
There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the
others.

when Sachin will retire the whole India will cry.....
I personally wish that day never comes. It would be one of the most disappointing days of my life. Ever since I started watching cricket, it was Sachin, Sachin & only Sachin who made me feel cricket so special. Sachin is only responsible for making cricket a religion in India. Whether he was injured, there was always a ray of hope that he comes back to team soon and when he is rested the charm of the match is surely missed. But after retirement, he will never be backing.If anyone wants to achieve anything in life, Sachin is the best example for them.
I feel most people find it hard to digest that Sachin will no more be a part of Indian cricket.I bet that will be a national holiday .Just imagine the day, when Sachin plays his last game. He comes to bat for the last time, and everybody in the stadium claps & the chants of SACHIN!!! Came for the last time after he gets out, while walking back to the pavilion, the entire crowd gives him a stand awaition. I will be in tears, millions of eyes wet watching their hero play for the last time. An era ends.The bond between every generation breaks. That day will be marked as the saddest day of Indian cricket...

We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel,
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the
usefulness of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel,
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the
usefulness of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to make a house,
And it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the
usefulness of the house depends.
Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is, we should
recognize the usefulness of what is not.

- Lao-tse