THE DAY MY CHILDHOOD ENDED ...
It happened at 1 o’clock on
the 16th of November 2013, in a stadium called Wankhade in the city
of Mumbai. It was hot and the sun was beating down on me while I had tears
flowing down my eyes. As the tears flowed, I prayed for it not to happen. But
it did.
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar waved
and walked up the stairs to the Indian dressing room for the final time.
And that walk took away my
last childhood hero.
While growing up we all have
had those few people for whom we've bunked classes, stayed up late at night,
fought with the world for and prayed hard that they conquer the world for us just
because they were our heros.
When Micheal Jackson belted
out Thriller he defined music for me. When Maradona weaved his magic on the
football field, the game brought new meaning to my life. When Amitabh Bachchan
tore into the villians on screen, life seemed perfect. When Boris Becker threw
himself across the tennis court to return that tennis ball, I wanted to do the
exact same thing. And when Sachin Tendulkar hoisted the opposition bowlers
across the boundary line, the kid in me felt, I and every Indian had done the
same.
These were the people that
defined my childhood. My adolescent years were where their posters, their
mannerisms and their deeds kept life alive. Those were the pre-satellite TV,
Twitter and Facebook days when it was difficult to get news about them, see
them and interact with them the way it is today. I remember saving up money so
that I could buy the next Micheal Jackson album. Staying over at my Uncles
house so that we could watch the Germany World cup together and get my fill of
Maradona. Standing in line to buy a ticket for Hum and throw money at the
screen when Amitabh Bachchan wooed Kimi Katkar with Jumma Chumma, bunk school because
Sachin was batting. There was the pure unadulterated happiness that was felt
when anyone of them were doing something …the joy that a child feels ..the
sheer high when they won and the dejection when they lost.
And then one by one they went
away; death took away some, the sportsmen stopped playing and Amitabh Bachchan
the actor was no longer the hero on screen. Younger guns took over… but Sachin
kept my childhood alive. He stood as the last link. Playing with the same gay
abandon that he had when he was 16, the first time he became a part of my life.
When he played the outside world stopped to exsist. Cheering and jumping,
buying tickets for live games that I could see him as part of, celebrating his
success and mourning his losses.
As life went on and adulthood
brought with it its fair share of worries and the responsibilities of living, Sachin
was the escape I sought when life got tough. The world was changing in so many
ways around me, but Sachin remained constant ..watching him play still
connected me to the days of my childhood…sitting with friends in a stadium and
watching him walk on the field still made me jump with joy and become the child
again. Listening to his exploits from others still make me wide eyed …he was my
link to a time gone by.
And then one day I met him
….the only person after Amitabh Bachchan who left me tongue tied.
I was shooting a TV show with
him that I was directing but all I managed to do was watch him gawkily; my hero
had come alive in front of me. I had always made fun of others who did it but
all I could say as my opening sentence to him was "Im a big fan”…yes I had
done that!
He kept playing and he kept
doing what he did best; wacking the bowlers and keeping the child in me happy.
When he lifted the world cup in Mumbai I was there crying and laughing and
hugging strangers cause my hero had done us proud. I never thought that one day
he will stop playing. But it did happen in front of my eyes; he walked out to
bat for the last time and played all the strokes that I had watched growing
up,the square cut,the punch of the backfoot,that perfect forward defence and
the drive straight down the ground. It felt like he was playing them for me, to
give me the perfect images that I could store in the heart of my childhood
forever.
And then he walked away.
Leaving me standing there
with just memories of my childhood …will I ever be able to be the child again
when I watch cricket?
Yes I will. Because all our
childhood heros deserve that …they deserve the promise that we will keep the
child in us alive. Watch sports with the same gay abandon, listen to music with
the same gusto and enjoy cinema as if the magic will never end.
I promise Sachin that I will
watch the game with the same passion as I did before, cheer as loudly and keep
the memories that he has given safe somewhere in my heart.
I will not let my childhood
die ….SACHIINNNN SACHIINN!!!!
