And i lived in Sachin's era

If they ever tell my story, let them say I shared this planet with giants. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat  but the names of these giants will never die (Lines by Greek Hero Odysseus). Let them say they lived in the era when 'Warne The Spinner' bowled, let them say they lived in the era when Sampras-Federer-Nadal racketed the court, let them say they lived in the era when Ussain Bolt bolted the race, let them say they lived in the era when Ian Thorpe-Michael Phelps broke Olympic records, let them say that team Australia was the champion team in that era, let them say they lived in Michael Jordan's era, let them say they lived in Tiger Woods era etc, i would say i lived in Sachin's era that surpassed all those eras like the pole star that shines brightly but never shakes from its place. Sachin is the only person who created a rare homogeneity and uniformity in otherwise highly fragmented society of India. They said that right time to commit a crime is the time when Sachin is batting as even the Gods will be busy watching that inning.

The people of my generation are extremely lucky to see through the scintillating career of Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. I started following Cricket during India's tour of down under in 1991-92 when India  played a limited over triangular series with Australia and West Indies and my impressionable mind was mesmerized by the sheer elegance of Sachin Tendulkar and it continues to be mesmerized by him even now. I remember very clearly bunking a rare class just to watch Sachin's inning against Sri Lanka at Delhi during 1996 World Cup. Cable TV came to my home in late 1990s but even that delay could not diminish my love for the game. I used to go to a TV shop (some 2 kms away from my home) just to watch Sachin's innings in late 1996 and 1997, specially the Indian tour of South Africa in 1996-97. Such was the connection that almost all my friends wept when Sachin failed to win that Chennai Test against Pakistan after scoring brilliant 136 runs. 

With the coming of Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman Indian batting became very strong and we as a team started impressing the world in the same as The Beatles hypnotized the world with their symphony. No one would forget the great inning of Sachin against Pakistan in 2003 World Cup and no one would certainly forget the master musical of these Beatles in 2002 and 2007 tour of Old Blighty. We destroyed the arrogance of Australia multiple times and even drew a series in Australia against the barbaric hordes of Steven Waugh in 2003-04. The failure in the final of 2003 World Cup was washed to the hilt by the glorious victory in 2011 world cup; this was the ultimate cup of joy and it returned to India after a gap of 28 years. Many of my friends and i wept on that very night of 2nd April 2011. My father, a great fan of Cricket and a very fine player himself did not live to see this grand victory. 
Many pundits compared various players with Sachin, starting from Brian Lara to Yusuf Yohana, from Steven Waugh to Inzamam-ul-Haq, from Mark Waugh to Ricky Ponting, from Kevin Petersen to Rahul Dravid but all these comparators only trifled with their bats at the feet of Sachin Tendulkar. In the end master remains a master while challengers simply atrophied away. He faced existential crisis many a times in his career but every time he overpowered them with his strong work ethics, superb talent and Herculean will power. It is said its extremely difficult to make it into Indian National team, to play consistently for 24 years is a target next to impossible. Players come and go, records are made and broken, but a phenomenon can never be repeated, it can only be enjoyed and relished, and Sachin has been the greatest sporting phenomenon we have experienced. Now you have taken retirement from Cricket i would only say that your journey and records are not only yours but ours too. Every run scored, every pain encountered, every match won, every match lost was ours.  Wish you all the best to all your future endeavours and i pray to God (or to no-God) that your stories shall continue to inspire generations of India in this sport-hero devoid country of ours, Amen.
I end this article with the famous line from another Hollywood flick "The Blue Max". A German General while awarding a medal to a war hero says that "This may look small to you but this is the highest medal Germany can give". Perhaps we would say the same about awarding Bharat Ratna to Sachin Tendulkar.