There was a pop song in my youth in the 70s-80s that went something like
Goodbye to you, my trusted friend
We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ttpztjuiz5k)
That's all we can say as the legend Sachin Tendulkar says farewell to cricket and hangs up his bat today.
Sachin, the batsman was phenomenal , so majestic and unflinching when he wielded his bat for 24 years for India. His life was in numbers and numbers was his life...
Yet when the moment came to go back to pavilion for the last time, he was so dear and soft. He thanked everyone who had made his life what it is today. There was not one dry eye in the stadium or outside.
A truly humble giant, despite his short stature!
No doubt, one could say through out his life, he got preferential treatment and Mumbai and Industry lobby had so strongly rallied behind him that his place was guaranteed for nearly a quarter of century. So much so that the Selectors in his lifetime had only to select the rest of the ten players..Sachin was ALWAYS there.
And he delivered, match after match, year after year, creating a status of a demigod that he was something that did not belong to this planet. The records he created may never be broken, but the the years he spent out in the middle entertaining one and will not be easily forgotten either.
Sachin tendulkar's exit marks the end of an era for us, may be, and we only hope and pray there will be other golden boys with bat and ball for the next generations to worship.
