Even for someone who doesn’t weep every time we lose a match, Sachin Tendulkar has been both an influence as also iconic in the manner in which he has conducted himself over the last 20 years. Both on and off the field. Both as a sportsman and as a human being and I think this, more than the runs he has scored, will be his defining legacy.
The Raj Thackerays may be able to bully Bollywood stars into linguistic strait-jackets or beat up politicians who swear in a language other than Marathi, but when it comes to Tendulkar, even the Raj Thackerays stop wagging both their fingers and their tongues only because Sachin has risen above the baseness which has become the leitmotif of our lives.
I cannot claim to know Sachin well but the two or three times I have met him socially, what has shone through is his intensity of purpose and his general warm demeanor.
What is unique is the fact that Sachin has worn his nationalism not on his sleeve but in his heart and the transparency and the genuineness come right through.
In this, he has been inspirational on the one hand, and a rallying point for men and women, boys and girls. Not just in India but across the globe. The last two decades have truly belonged to Sachin. He has straddled Indian cricket like a Colossus with the humility that would make even Mother Teresa blush.
He has led from the front; he has led with conviction and he has played the part of a perfect gentleman in a gentleman’s game. Without the fuss. Without the boorishness but with equanimity and compassion. That is what makes him a legend. That is what he will forever be remembered for.
— The writer is Managing Partner of Counselage India
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