<p>When the flow of emotions settled a bit, Sachin Tendulkar walked to the centre of the Wankhede stadium all alone, and touched the pitch with his hand. It was a silent yet touching tribute to cricket at the end of a momentous 24-year journey.<br /></p>.<p>A few hours after the match ended, the Centre conferred Bharat Ratna on him. Tendulkar dedicated the top civilian award to his mother. He is the youngest and the first sportsperson to get the award.<br /><br />Everyone knew that the Tendulkar era would come to an end at some point on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies. But when his last act arrived at 11:47 am, it set in motion an overpowering chain of emotions. <br /><br />Even the man, who seemed immune to petty emotions and overt show of feelings, couldn’t control himself. The tears that rolled down his cheeks were swiftly covered by his floppy hat before he began his farewell speech. <br /><br />“My life, between 22 yards for 24 years; it is hard to believe that the wonderful journey has come to an end,” his words resonated around the stadium as spectators sobbed openly in the stands, former cricketers who themselves went through retirement sported moist eyes, his family struggled to remain calm, his team-mates didn’t even blink an eye. Nobody moved a muscle as the world shrunk into Tendulkar. <br /><br />The 40-year-old thanked everyone who helped him during a journey that has no parallel in Indian sporting history. As expected, his father, the late Ramesh Tendulkar, found the first mention. “He gave me freedom at the age of 11, and told me that I should chase my dreams, but said ‘make sure you do not look for short cuts. The path might be difficult, but don’t give up’, and I have simply followed his instructions. <br /><br />“Above all, he told me to be a nice human being, which I will continue to do and try my best. Every time I have done something special and showed my bat, it was for my father,” he said. <br /><br />His mother Rajni was in the VIP enclosure, listening to his son, and Tendulkar paid glowing accolades to her for being patient with a naughty son. Then he thanked elder brothers Nitin and Ajit for being a source of constant inspiration and for taking him to Ramakant Achrekar, his aunt and uncle for housing him near Shivaji Park, and sister Savita, for presenting him with his first cricket bat. <br /><br />“Various things we agreed upon and so many technical things which I didn’t agree with him,” he said about Ajit. “We have had arguments and disagreements. I have had a lot of chat with him. If I had not done that, I would have been a lesser cricketer,” said Tendulkar as his voice choked with emotion at times. <br /><br />The Mumbaikar had always held his family—wife, Anjali, children Sara and Arjun—as the biggest supporting force, and remembered them with great fondness. <br /></p>.<div>“The most beautiful thing happened to me in 1990 when I met my wife, Anjali. Those were special years. I know Anjali, being a doctor; there was a wonderful career in front of her. When we decided to have a family, Anjali took the initiative to step back. You are the best partnership I have had in my life,” said Tendulkar as tears trickled down between her cheeks and oversized sunglass.<br /><br /></div>.<div>“Then, the two precious diamonds of my life—Sara and Arjun. I wanted to spend so much time with them on their birthdays, their annual days, their sports day, holidays. I promise you (that) for 14 and 16 years I have not spent enough time with both of you, but the next 16 years, everything is for you,” he said. <br /><br /></div>.<div>But he reserved his best words for the legions of fans. “I have met so many guys who have fasted for me, prayed for me, done so much for me. Without that, life wouldn’t have been like this for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” <br /><br /></div>.<div>The noise emanated from the stands would have echoed around Mumbai. <br /><br /></div>.<div>He continued: “The memories you have left with me will be with me forever, especially “Sachin, Sachin” which will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing.”<br /><br /></div>.<div>It was a beautiful tribute to the fans from someone who enjoyed unadulterated and unabated adoration and backing from them for 24 long years. The crowd soaked in his words, and chanted at the top of their voice “Saaaachin, Sachin.” <br /><br /></div>.<div>His teammates then carried him around the stadium on their shoulders, first by MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and then by M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. It was a befitting end to a extraordinary cricketing career, in which he shouldered the burden of an entire nation for 24 years. </div>
<p>When the flow of emotions settled a bit, Sachin Tendulkar walked to the centre of the Wankhede stadium all alone, and touched the pitch with his hand. It was a silent yet touching tribute to cricket at the end of a momentous 24-year journey.<br /></p>.<p>A few hours after the match ended, the Centre conferred Bharat Ratna on him. Tendulkar dedicated the top civilian award to his mother. He is the youngest and the first sportsperson to get the award.<br /><br />Everyone knew that the Tendulkar era would come to an end at some point on the third day of the second Test against the West Indies. But when his last act arrived at 11:47 am, it set in motion an overpowering chain of emotions. <br /><br />Even the man, who seemed immune to petty emotions and overt show of feelings, couldn’t control himself. The tears that rolled down his cheeks were swiftly covered by his floppy hat before he began his farewell speech. <br /><br />“My life, between 22 yards for 24 years; it is hard to believe that the wonderful journey has come to an end,” his words resonated around the stadium as spectators sobbed openly in the stands, former cricketers who themselves went through retirement sported moist eyes, his family struggled to remain calm, his team-mates didn’t even blink an eye. Nobody moved a muscle as the world shrunk into Tendulkar. <br /><br />The 40-year-old thanked everyone who helped him during a journey that has no parallel in Indian sporting history. As expected, his father, the late Ramesh Tendulkar, found the first mention. “He gave me freedom at the age of 11, and told me that I should chase my dreams, but said ‘make sure you do not look for short cuts. The path might be difficult, but don’t give up’, and I have simply followed his instructions. <br /><br />“Above all, he told me to be a nice human being, which I will continue to do and try my best. Every time I have done something special and showed my bat, it was for my father,” he said. <br /><br />His mother Rajni was in the VIP enclosure, listening to his son, and Tendulkar paid glowing accolades to her for being patient with a naughty son. Then he thanked elder brothers Nitin and Ajit for being a source of constant inspiration and for taking him to Ramakant Achrekar, his aunt and uncle for housing him near Shivaji Park, and sister Savita, for presenting him with his first cricket bat. <br /><br />“Various things we agreed upon and so many technical things which I didn’t agree with him,” he said about Ajit. “We have had arguments and disagreements. I have had a lot of chat with him. If I had not done that, I would have been a lesser cricketer,” said Tendulkar as his voice choked with emotion at times. <br /><br />The Mumbaikar had always held his family—wife, Anjali, children Sara and Arjun—as the biggest supporting force, and remembered them with great fondness. <br /></p>.<div>“The most beautiful thing happened to me in 1990 when I met my wife, Anjali. Those were special years. I know Anjali, being a doctor; there was a wonderful career in front of her. When we decided to have a family, Anjali took the initiative to step back. You are the best partnership I have had in my life,” said Tendulkar as tears trickled down between her cheeks and oversized sunglass.<br /><br /></div>.<div>“Then, the two precious diamonds of my life—Sara and Arjun. I wanted to spend so much time with them on their birthdays, their annual days, their sports day, holidays. I promise you (that) for 14 and 16 years I have not spent enough time with both of you, but the next 16 years, everything is for you,” he said. <br /><br /></div>.<div>But he reserved his best words for the legions of fans. “I have met so many guys who have fasted for me, prayed for me, done so much for me. Without that, life wouldn’t have been like this for me. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart.” <br /><br /></div>.<div>The noise emanated from the stands would have echoed around Mumbai. <br /><br /></div>.<div>He continued: “The memories you have left with me will be with me forever, especially “Sachin, Sachin” which will reverberate in my ears till I stop breathing.”<br /><br /></div>.<div>It was a beautiful tribute to the fans from someone who enjoyed unadulterated and unabated adoration and backing from them for 24 long years. The crowd soaked in his words, and chanted at the top of their voice “Saaaachin, Sachin.” <br /><br /></div>.<div>His teammates then carried him around the stadium on their shoulders, first by MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and then by M Vijay and Shikhar Dhawan. It was a befitting end to a extraordinary cricketing career, in which he shouldered the burden of an entire nation for 24 years. </div>
