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To Sachin Tendulkar sir, with love and litchis

Sudhir Gautam, the cricket legend's greatest fan, keeps the 12-year ritual going.

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Sudhir, with two boxes of litchis, at Tendulkar’s residence
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At 4:05 am on Thursday, the Pawan Express comes to a halt at the Lokmanya Tilak Terminus after travelling about 1,875 km in 36 hours.

Sudhir Gautam steps out of the general compartment, dressed as usual in Team India Blue. A spartan in every sense of the word, he is travelling light. Well, he plans to be in the city for just 20 hours. "Bus ek bag aur do box litchi (just one bag and two boxes of litchi)," he says.

You know Sudhir. At least you know of him. Every cricket-watching Indian knows of him. Yes, he of the huge tricolour, he of the body paint, he of the conch shell. He is unmissable at an India game. He is Sachin Tendulkar's biggest fan. Even the Master has acknowledged this on several occasions. He calls him "one of my most special fans". Enough said.

So what's with the litchis? One thousand in all. Handpicked by Sudhir, tied into bunches of 20 and protected by sesame leaves and butter paper, and packed into two small paper cartons, they have made the journey from Muzaffarpur to Mumbai.

"You know I can't afford an AC ticket," Sudhir says, almost helplessly. "I was right at the back in the unreserved bogey. But the litchis travelled in this three-tier AC compartment," he informs.

How? Why?

"That's because a couple of gentlemen were kind enough to help me. I told them these were for Sachin sir. First, an elderly man agreed to carry them from Muzaffarpur to Nashik. Then, I found another man, much younger than the first one, to keep them for the last four hours of the journey."

Sudhir has been gifting Tendulkar the famous litchis of his hometown for 12 straight years now. The journey from the railway station to the legend's residence in Bandra takes about half-an-hour. Sudhir goes down memory lane.

"I first met Sachin sir in 2003. A year later, I got him litchis for the first time. The practice hasn't stopped since," he says.

This visit to the residence of a Bharat Ratna is just a part of this fan's itinerary. "From here I have to go back to my hometown, pack another 1,000 litchis for Harbhajan Singh. After visiting him in Jalandhar, I'll go to Delhi and organise my Bangladesh visa for the upcoming series. Then I'll go back home and pack another 1,000 litchis and go to Ranchi. After meeting MS Dhoni, I'll go to Kolkata and catch a bus to Dhaka," he says in one breath.

Sudhir has unrivalled access to the Tendulkar household. "Just wait and watch. All I have to do is to ring the door bell. The security personnel will let me in immediately. A few years ago, one of them denied me entry. Sachin sir scolded the entire bunch in front of me. 'Jab bhi Sudhir aaye, use aane dena. Use kabhi koi nahi rokega' (Whenever Sudhir is at the door, let him in. Do not stop him. Ever). That helped," he says with a laugh.

Outside Tendulkar's bungalow, Sudhir says, "I will take some rest now. Once Sachin sir wakes up, the security will inform him of my arrival. I'll have breakfast with sir and Anjali bhabhi, give them the litchis and leave," he says.

It's time to ring the bell. Sudhir does his thing. The door opens, the watchman greets him and ushers him into the dream home.

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