Demigod to Devil - The Dark Knight
“You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”
This is what I read about Sachin in an article by Jaideep in a sports site. Being a ‘Dark Knight’ fan and going through the string of comments on TOI and a plethora of “Retire soon!!” tweets daily, I couldn’t resist from throwing some light. The problem I feel is not with the people or with Sachin, it is part of the process of ‘Being Sachin’.
After 23 years of nonstop cricketing brilliance, thirty three thousand international runs and now a hundred international hundreds, the biggest facebook debate was
“Now will Sachin Tendulkar retire?”
True, the hundredth 100 has been a wait, a long excruciating wait. It has seen the entire English debacle and the Aussie drubbing, then it also signified that even a Great Man needs to earn his achievements. As he himself said after completing his epic ton “It’s been a tough phase for me….because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds.”
The retirement of Rahul Dravid made it even tougher for this diminutive figure. The entire country voiced – “It’s time to go…”
Being men, we all know the art of ‘passing the buck’ pretty well, and in a team of youngsters (some of them are considered that, even after 10 years into the game, courtesy: Seniority and superiority of the Fab Four), who better to blame than a 39 year old war horse. We have hoped of every impossible thing from him (I actually thought of using ‘Him’), and he has made them possible. I didn’t want to add the ‘we Indians’ thing but then we Indians love to challenge others and even love to see the struggle of the person and not to forget to pass some ‘lovely’ comments on a failure/struggler.
The failure that most of us are in one field or the other makes us arise questions, not on ourselves but on the policies, on the government, on this, that and the other....and when we are short of it we question the hockey, football and cricket teams. Two of them are hopeless and one that delivers has to defy gravity every time it steps on the field. How much do you criticize a team; you look for a scapegoat. In mid-90s the ODI scapegoat was Dravid, then Laxman, and then when we ran out of alternatives, we decide to put the blame on someone who has the capability to bear it all.
Take my words, try targeting an under-performing Raina or Jadeja (I just hope that after 3-4 years in international cricket they are not considered newbies anymore), or the ever-flailing pace battery and you’d be losing one or two careers. We criticized Dravid because we knew that he had the character, we criticized Laxman because we knew he would bounce back, and the animadversion that Sachin is going through, is because we know that he can bear it and still perform.
Asia Cup, Flat pitch, small grounds, Bangladesh – the mocks gain voice because India has had enough of Sachin Tendulkar.
For the last 23 years, India has seen him in the different versions of the Blue jersey and the transition from MRF to Adidas on his bat. India has had enough of a record junkie who went on turning nonsensical and almost insane records into reality. India has had enough of watching those old buckled pads, the helmet with the Indian flag, the customary stoop before taking stance, the look up to the heavens after a three figure score and the nod of acknowledgement after getting beaten by a good delivery.
India made him God and now we Indians have had enough our God!
Normal people don’t understand his super human records because as much as we love to revel with the victor, none of us knows what it’s like to score a hundred hundreds or be in the spotlight for two decades. But all of us do know the pain of disappointments and what it’s like to have a dream crushed. So a somber Rahul Dravid press conference or a dejected Ricky Ponting hits home more than the celebrations of a 39 year old, who keeps getting better like wine.
We want him to retire but we still expect him to perform like “God” every time he walks into bat, which in a way reveals the place he occupies in our hearts. Ironically, we still recognize the hold he has on our psyche, especially in the venom that we spit on him whenever he fails. The more we curse him, the more we express our need for him but we still curse him because that’s what needs to happen.
Why?
Because Sachin Tendulkar is the hero that India deserves but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, curse him, mock at him, set the wagging tongues on him because HE can take it…
Because HE’s not just a mere hero, he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector – A Dark Knight.
Note: Bits and pieces have been taken from Jaideep’s article and The Dark Knight.
This is what I read about Sachin in an article by Jaideep in a sports site. Being a ‘Dark Knight’ fan and going through the string of comments on TOI and a plethora of “Retire soon!!” tweets daily, I couldn’t resist from throwing some light. The problem I feel is not with the people or with Sachin, it is part of the process of ‘Being Sachin’.
After 23 years of nonstop cricketing brilliance, thirty three thousand international runs and now a hundred international hundreds, the biggest facebook debate was
“Now will Sachin Tendulkar retire?”
True, the hundredth 100 has been a wait, a long excruciating wait. It has seen the entire English debacle and the Aussie drubbing, then it also signified that even a Great Man needs to earn his achievements. As he himself said after completing his epic ton “It’s been a tough phase for me….because nobody talked about my 99 hundreds.”
The retirement of Rahul Dravid made it even tougher for this diminutive figure. The entire country voiced – “It’s time to go…”
Being men, we all know the art of ‘passing the buck’ pretty well, and in a team of youngsters (some of them are considered that, even after 10 years into the game, courtesy: Seniority and superiority of the Fab Four), who better to blame than a 39 year old war horse. We have hoped of every impossible thing from him (I actually thought of using ‘Him’), and he has made them possible. I didn’t want to add the ‘we Indians’ thing but then we Indians love to challenge others and even love to see the struggle of the person and not to forget to pass some ‘lovely’ comments on a failure/struggler.
The failure that most of us are in one field or the other makes us arise questions, not on ourselves but on the policies, on the government, on this, that and the other....and when we are short of it we question the hockey, football and cricket teams. Two of them are hopeless and one that delivers has to defy gravity every time it steps on the field. How much do you criticize a team; you look for a scapegoat. In mid-90s the ODI scapegoat was Dravid, then Laxman, and then when we ran out of alternatives, we decide to put the blame on someone who has the capability to bear it all.
Take my words, try targeting an under-performing Raina or Jadeja (I just hope that after 3-4 years in international cricket they are not considered newbies anymore), or the ever-flailing pace battery and you’d be losing one or two careers. We criticized Dravid because we knew that he had the character, we criticized Laxman because we knew he would bounce back, and the animadversion that Sachin is going through, is because we know that he can bear it and still perform.
Asia Cup, Flat pitch, small grounds, Bangladesh – the mocks gain voice because India has had enough of Sachin Tendulkar.
For the last 23 years, India has seen him in the different versions of the Blue jersey and the transition from MRF to Adidas on his bat. India has had enough of a record junkie who went on turning nonsensical and almost insane records into reality. India has had enough of watching those old buckled pads, the helmet with the Indian flag, the customary stoop before taking stance, the look up to the heavens after a three figure score and the nod of acknowledgement after getting beaten by a good delivery.
India made him God and now we Indians have had enough our God!
Normal people don’t understand his super human records because as much as we love to revel with the victor, none of us knows what it’s like to score a hundred hundreds or be in the spotlight for two decades. But all of us do know the pain of disappointments and what it’s like to have a dream crushed. So a somber Rahul Dravid press conference or a dejected Ricky Ponting hits home more than the celebrations of a 39 year old, who keeps getting better like wine.
We want him to retire but we still expect him to perform like “God” every time he walks into bat, which in a way reveals the place he occupies in our hearts. Ironically, we still recognize the hold he has on our psyche, especially in the venom that we spit on him whenever he fails. The more we curse him, the more we express our need for him but we still curse him because that’s what needs to happen.
Why?
Because Sachin Tendulkar is the hero that India deserves but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, curse him, mock at him, set the wagging tongues on him because HE can take it…
Because HE’s not just a mere hero, he’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector – A Dark Knight.
Note: Bits and pieces have been taken from Jaideep’s article and The Dark Knight.
Tiwari you are becoming a pro day by day...prolific article...and i agree with ur views completely...this man has the superhuman capabilities.. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks mate....this one was for my humble superman
DeleteWell written man ! :)
ReplyDeletestrong article akshay - much appreciated!
ReplyDelete💚🧡💜👍
ReplyDelete