I am back. As cheesy as that sounds I always loved “ The Terminator” movie for that specific dialogue. Arnold with his “Pronunciation-experts-go-to-hell” English was just oh-so-brilliant. So was busy preparing for my IIFT tests. Thus the gap. Was thinking about what to write about when Shiv Sena gave me fodder with their comments critising Sachin. So here goes for my God.
First of all let me just give some numbers:
30000 runs with 88 centuries and 144 fifties. A highest score of 248* in tests and 186* in ODIs. 208 wickets in all. And still going after 20 years of List A cricket.
I mean how some people have the audacity to challenge the career (one way or the other) of the great man is beyond my rationale. But this is not about his cricketing career. So my God (read Sachin) goes on and says –“I am first an Indian then a Marathi”. And some people just lose the plot. Accusations whirl around about him not being a true Marathi, not helping enough Marathi players into the side, advising him to stay out of politics and the whole nine yards.
First of all kudos to Sachin for standing up to those Vandals, who for the dearth of better name, call themselves MNS. I don’t understand all this hara-kiri about such a seemingly innocuous statement. I mean if anything the man needs to be praised for wearing his heart on his sleeve and proclaiming such a statement that reeks of nationalism. But these hooligans, having nothing better to do, have jumped upon the back of Sachin. And having the backing of their parent organization the Shiv Sena is just a blessing a disguise for Raj Thackeray and his band of mischief mongers. I mean to say that Sachin hasn’t helped Marathi cricketers is a statement so far below the belt, it’s absolutely unimaginable. If by helping , the Sena means using his apparent power to include more Marathi Cricketers in the Indian team, the world will agree with me that is actually a blessing. I mean that comment was more insulting to Sunil Gavaskar, who the Sena proclaim, used his unwielding power over the selectors to browbeat them into selecting more Marathi crickets.
The Sena and now the MNS, for political organizations, have so narrow an agenda that it is unbelievable that they are branded as political parties and not terrorist organization. I mean isn’t disrupting the harmony of the country a terrorist activity? How is burning down Gift shops, on Valentine’s Day, helpful to the people of India. The abrupt disregard of the indigenous nature of the human mind to imbibe everything that is good in each culture has been starkly violent and mass- destructing. Raj Thackeray is nothing better than a Dawood Ibrahim or an Osama bin Laden.
I will wind up by saying that, leave the man alone. He has done more for India, aye even Maharastra, than all the people in your organization put together. He has made us all laugh in rejoice or cry in despair. He has made us believe in India. Your petty politics is way below his level.Let us cheer for the man that he is. The master blaster. Batsman Extraordinare. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
p.s.: About my IIFT exams. Gud scores. Quanti might just kick me out though.