Boria Majumdar at Lord’s
It was his day. A young boy, who came to Lord’s for the first time 37 years back, finally witnessed his portrait unveiled at the home of cricket. He rang the bell to start the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Dreams, as Sachin Tendulkar always says, “do come true”.
There is a caveat here. Hard work and more hard work to go with the talent he was blessed with. That’s what made him the world’s best and that’s what Lord’s celebrated yesterday on the first day of the third Test match.
For me, it was but natural that I’d go and meet him. As his biographer, it was a moment of immense pride. So I decided to memorialise the occasion by buying the poster launched by the MCC on the day to celebrate Sachin. It is an A3 size reproduction of the painting that was unveiled. The shop had run out of the poster and only had some postcards left. Seeing me really keen, they got two from the store — one for me and one for Subhayan Chakraborty my colleague. Once we had bought the posters, we needed Sachin to sign them.
We requested Bhavisha Joshi, who was coordinating things with Sachin, to go and check with him if he was agreeable. The truth is, I always knew he’d not say no. While he was sitting with Ravi Shastri and Brett Lee, he came out soon after we had reached. After the pleasantries, we gave each other a warm hug and I said to him that it was indeed a proud moment for us all.
“Did you think your portrait would be unveiled here at Lord’s and the stadium would celebrate you like this?” I asked him. Sachin, as always, was polite and modest. “You know my answer,” he said to me. Indeed, I knew, but I was keen on hearing it from him. And that’s when he said it. “Chase your dreams,” was the line. “For dreams do come true.”
Let me say this loud and clear. Sachin Tendulkar deserves everything that is coming his way. For three decades, he did nothing but worship the sport. He has worked the hardest one possibly can and in doing so, scaled a level few can ever aspire to match. It was fitting that on the day we celebrated Sunil Gavaskar’s 76th birthday, we also celebrated Sachin Tendulkar at Lord’s.
Once he had signed my poster, I requested him to do the same for Subhayan. For him, it was a dream-come-true moment and it felt good to be able to do it for him. Sachin obliged and personalised it for him. Truth be told, Subhayan couldn’t believe it. After he had clicked a few photos with Sachin, he said to me, “Can we see the poster once?” I jokingly said to him that the signature will not disappear!
Subhayan had tears in his eyes and it was evidence what Sachin means to us in India. Rather, what he means to many in the world of cricket. May be, that’s why all of Lord’s stood up for him. And the portrait will be a constant reminder of his legacy. Congratulations again Sachin. It is much deserved.
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