For the last many years I have constantly been preoccupied with this thought. Time and again, It has come to me, and every time I have relished it, every moment of it. But GWALIOR was perhaps the pinnacle point, and I couldn’t resist myself, In fact I have been compelled to pen this down.
Neither Cricket nor Celluloid, are as old as I am. Both have existed in their modern form right from the turn of the 20th century, and many greats and legends have ruled the roost over the years, but we have been testimony to two of the greatest, Cricket and Celluloid has ever seen. Born to a generation of parents who would often recount the good old days of Indian Cinema and Indian Cricket to us. I guess, what we can recount in the decades to come would perhaps , not perhaps in fact certainly surpass their experience. I often imagine myself reclining on a old arm chair, playing the role of a raconteur to my grand children ( If I and my progenies are able to overcome the hazards of electromagnetic web around us and the myriads of destiny to procreate, at ease…..And given the fact that Indian’s excel at it……I bet, we will). The day shall come when I can proudly tell that… Yes, I have. I have seen the Mumbai Magicians at their very best, I have seen Amitabh Bacchan and Sachin Tendulkar do, what they did best, one filling every micron of the 70 mm screen, the other stamping his authority over the 22 yards and much beyond that , all over the road that leads to our heart, these milestones were really special. The Uttar Pradesh lad had seen many highs and lows, survived crashes and bashes to give us wonderful gifts like Sholay and Deewar.
But in a sense the Marathi boy outscores him, for even BigB needs to do different things differently every Friday , to live up to his pedestal of Fame. But this man does the same thing without Difference and yet is lauded the world over. Given that I was yet to be born when Sholay happened, but 15th of November 1989 was a day when I woke up under the same sun and breathed in the same air, that blessed him. Indian cricket saw the entry of the 187th man on their roll, in a Test match against their arch rivals Pakistan, but the 15 runs scored was hardly a reflection of his true prowess. As years rolled by, the magician started revealing his tricks, and by the time I had reached my teens, he was the in the process of becoming the greatest in the making. Donald Bradman had endorsed this boy’s skills, for he could ruminate over his hey days watching this little over 5’ Homo sapien. He wallowed in the nostalgia of the willow and pronounced this boy to be someone alike. Indeed, Sir Don did not survive to see his magnum opus, but had seen sufficient of him to have entertained himself during the last years of his life, at his Bowrel home near Adelaide. Over the years, Sunil Gavaskar’s records faded in the hallow of this man’s achievements , until a time came when people(especially over prudent analysts of Indian Crciket were ready to write his Epitaph and write him off as an injury prone cricketer, past his prime.) But the gentleman wasn’t ready to hit back at them with sharp words but he did so with his sharp cuts and drove them from Extra Cover to somewhere in the obscurity of the boundaries. He was peaking again, this time it wasn’t Desert Strom, it was the Inter-continental Tsunami that was his playing ground. From the bouncy Wacca to the dust bowl in Colombo, from Mirpur and Dhaka to Nagpur and Eden, it was shining bright. And just when I was getting a bit anxious, came Gwalior. Arguably the greatest moment in the history of world cricket unfolded in front of this central Indian city , as he hit and punched those weary muscles that were cramping, he was at 199, and I; like any other Indian fan was expecting the inevitable, but just then I felt, we as a nation have always been wanting for the last 22 years from one man. A billion people wanting just one man to deliver. But it’s not without reason people call him the God of the Game… And without an aide to do the sprinting , he pushed the bowl and ran the yards. And that was it, the evening of 24th February, 2010 was embossed in golden letters in the history of the game. Sachin Tendulkar was the first man in the history of 40 years of ODIs to score a double ton in this version of the game. Having had watched him, its been a true pleasure and a true honour. Here’s wishing him luck and all my good will for his century of centuries and his Test Triple Ton, and yes the a World Cup in his kitty by the end of 2011.
In fact Amitabh Bacchan has also mersmerised us in the same way, crafted his acts to pierce and percolate through our senses and sensibilities , giving rise to emotions and feeling that were truly priceless. I as an Indian born in the 1980s and having grown up watching these legends , feel Blessed. Hoping to see more from the Mumbai Magicians.
