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Life is variable, Sachin is constant

Ask me about all the negative things in the world. My vulnerabilities, my fears, my failures and even about Satan. I never had issues expressing all these and talking about them came to me naturally. What I cannot do is, talking about my goals, positives… God. Maybe, that’s why I find it difficult to write about Sachin. My God. The number of times, I looked up to him is obviously more than I looked up to anyone.

My Mom and dad should take the blame for the way they raised me. Cricket was the bonding factor in my family. My mother used to bowl to me when I was young. My dad took me to matches, would teach me how cricket and players worked.

I was born in the early 90s, the time India, the country, was going through changes. In my place, cable television became the new member of the family. At that time, one had an option to exit from the family members but not Sachin. He was everywhere. Papers, TV, Match, news everywhere.

When I began to understand what cricket was, Sachin was introduced to me as the hero. The God. He certainly was. He brought peace to the family, to the country that was going through changes.

Irrespective of what everyone was going through at that time, Sachin became the common factor. The sky we painted our dreams on. Everyone loved him. Tied their dreams to his. Took him as their family. He was the son they never had, a long lost brother. Poor man, he had to carry so much. He eventually did.

This love was the connecting point between two different groups, the old and new. The parents and the children. If there was a rift in the family, Sachin’s posters, newspaper cuttings solved more problems. His pictures even made it to wedding gifts, sometimes, return gifts. Families named their kids Sachin. This is a never-ending list even today.

Some cricketers were loved by everyone, irrespective of the country probably during their retirement where that nostalgic feeling takes over but with Sachin, he was more of that first love. Not just crush the first pure love. We were ready to sacrifice our school days even exams just to catch a glimpse of him. No matter what was the situation, if Sachin played well, the world slept well even if India had lost that game, he mattered the most. He was like this artist who mesmerized us with his painting. A magician whose wand would chase away all the sadness.

The number of prayers we had for ourselves were lesser than those we had for Sachin every time he walks out to bat.

He had our loudest cheers whenever he batted and deepest silence whenever he got out. Soon, he became the centre character in Indian cricket’s transformation. The cricket grammar revolved around him.

We then moved to the 2000s. The years changed. The weather changed. Life changed. There were new buildings and offices. We grew up. Television took a back seat and live streaming took over. Some were married, moved to other phases of life but when Sachin took the field. The emotions were the same. He still did the magic with the wand, destroy the cloud of sadness. This time, he didn’t even have to score or take India to victory but just have to show up. The glimpse of catching him live made all the difference in our life. Of course, he treated us better.

The man who made us forget everything, made us all cry when he announced his retirement. It was heartbreaking and his farewell speech killed the love for cricket for most of us. As time goes, most of his records will be replaced. New Gods will take over. New heroes will rise. No matter what, nobody can even come closer to the emotions and the feel he has given us whenever he took the field.

Even in 2021, he gives the same feeling. Of course, the first love is always special and is always there, right?

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To me, Sachin was everything. Literally everything. Growing up, he knew my problems more than anyone else. I would have written his name more than mine. My diary was full of his performances and his scores. My room had his posters, I woke up praying to him. I escaped classes to watch him play. I had those MRF bats because he used that. I drank boost because he was in the advertisement. Even after decades, he is still my go-to, his videos still make my day better. If not for Sachin, I wouldn’t be here.

Simply put: I was the typical Indian while growing up. Thank you, Sachin for everything. You will always be my God.

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