Sachin Tendulkar is a foodie. He enjoys his food, and that’s no secret. So much so that once he had gone out for a meal with Anjali, his wife, and ordered multiple dishes at once. Anjali, naturally, did not order thinking that Sachin had ordered for them both. To her surprise, Sachin asked her to order, saying that whatever he had ordered was for him and he’d eat it all!
The first meal with Sachin that I wish to recount here was at Masuri, a Japanese restaurant in Adelaide. We had been planning a Japanese meal for quite some time and finally decided on going out before the start of the Adelaide Test. The sushi and sashimi were divine and we had all but forgotten that we had my colleague, journalist Harini Rana, with us and that she was vegetarian. The smell of the raw fish made Harini so uneasy that she was suspicious even of the vegetarian tempura placed in front of her. Sachin told her that tempura was “just like bhaji (pakora).” That did not help much. After we had dropped Sachin back to the hotel, Harini said to me softly, “Sir, can we please go to a Subway on the way back?”
Sachin understands the intricacies of Japanese food. He was swift in making a blend of the wasabi with a dash of olive oil to dip the raw fish into. The concoction, an improvisation, tasted fantastic. And the excitement in his voice when he orders food is the same as that when he talks about his other passion, music.
Another memorable meal with Sachin was lunch at his house in Mumbai. It was in the ground floor dining room. On the walls behind the dining table hung three of the most treasured awards in India, the Padmashree, Khel Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. To read each of these certifications of merit and see them all next to each other is daunting, to say the least.
The meal was simple but tasty home fare, which we both devoured by hand in typical Indian fashion. There was dal, vegetables, prawn and mutton, roti and rice, followed by kulfi for dessert. It was in the course of this meal that I yet again witnessed his quest for perfection. He was keen on serving the food and did so with great care. Not a drop would fall on the table and the whole thing said a lot about how he is as a person.
But the most funny encounter over food happened in Rio during the 2016 Olympics. Sachin had fractured his leg at the time and was in a cast. I remember telling him that in Brazil, he wouldn’t have the issue of getting mobbed and could come out to the beach with us if he wanted and have breakfast in one of the beach shacks. Sachin loved the idea and immediately agreed. When we reached the beach, all we wanted was omelette sandwich and coconut water. But everything in the menu had meat mentioned, and it was a challenge communicating to the shop owner that we did not want meat in our breakfast.
That’s when I discovered a gentleman who understood English, and requested him to help us out. He too had been observing us and must have had a hint that the man with me was someone special. When he asked who Sachin was, I said he is the greatest cricketer ever. It did not strike a chord, for the man did not follow cricket. That’s when I asked him if he followed football, being a Brazilian. He indeed did, and was a huge Messi fan despite being from Rio. That’s when I asked him if he knew of Pele. The moment I did, his eyes lit up.
“Pele,” he said. “Pele is God.” That was my chance. I said to him that in India, Sachin was like two Pele. He too is God for millions. The man did not say much, and nodded.
He then went on to explain to the shop owner what we wanted and we were served the most delicious omelette sandwich. The coconut water too tasted divine. As we were about to finish the meal, we could see a small crowd building up. Neither of us had any idea what was going on. That’s when I spotted our friend getting the crowd to stand in a queue. Curious as to what was going on, I asked him what had happened and why had he come back again.
“You said he is like two Pele,” said our friend. “So I called my family and friends to click photos with two Pele. We won’t get this opportunity.”
I was stumped. Sachin had a smile on his face, and obliged everyone present. When it was all done, we just burst out laughing. Two Pele still remains a fond memory!