It’s going to be the kind of a send-off that Sachin Tendulkar will cherish forever. As he gears up for his last Test on Thursday, the media coverage leading up to this occasion has been nothing short of frenzied. In fact, some friends complain that it has been an overkill and wonder if all the hype is actually warranted.
“You don’t see this happening in other cricketing nations. When Ricky Ponting and Brian Lara retired, there was none of this hoopla,” one of them said. Are we as a nation guilty of fuelling this Sachin mania? Have we gone overboard when this is just another cricket match by the end of the day? Is an individual more important than the game?
Not entirely misplaced questions except that Sachin Tendulkar just has this special something called charisma which only a select few are endowed with. If the Master Blaster were to walk unescorted into a hotel lobby, he would be mobbed within minutes. And with due apologies to Tendulkar’s fellow cricketers, they would not encounter this kind of hysterical reaction with, perhaps, the exception of skipper, MS Dhoni.
I remember the time of the Delhi Auto Expo a decade ago when Tendulkar visited the Fiat Auto stall. He was then the brand ambassador for the Italian automaker and the crowds that surged the pavilion had to be seen to be believed. The same fanatical following exists today which is only a reflection of the man’s stature. The fact that this connects with the masses clicks across different age groups makes it even more extraordinary.
How did Sachin manage to develop this kind of charisma? It could well have started with images of a 17-year-old scoring his first Test century to save India the blushes against England. What could have been more attractive to viewers than the sight of a young lad taking on a strong opposition in its own backyard?
The comfortable transition as an opener in one-day cricket only contributed to this rapidly growing reputation. Nearly 15 years have passed since ‘Desert Storm’ when Tendulkar scored back-to-back tons against Australia and won us the Coca Cola cup. Yet, this performance is spoken of with revered tones even today. The same holds good for the murderous 98 against Pakistan in the World Cup of 2003.
Everyone is only too aware that the man who will take guard against the West Indies at the Wankhede is past his prime. After all, he is over 40 and his reflexes will be a lot slower. Yet, the crowds at the stadium are not going to care one bit. If he scores a ton in his last Test, the Tendulkar legend will only grow. And who cares if it is a paltry score? Did Donald Bradman’s last Test duck rob him of his staggering status in Test cricket?
It is this charisma that film star, Shah Rukh Khan still wields so comfortably with his fans across the world, be it in Dubai or Frankfurt. This is equally true for Amitabh Bachchan who is pushing 72 but still going strong. And the previous generation of film-goers will swear from the rooftops that nobody has seen the kind of craze that Rajesh Khanna did in the early 1970s. In fact, this fan frenzy prompted Bombay University to include an essay, ‘The Charisma of Rajesh Khanna’, in a textbook.
And for those who think this is an Indian phenomenon, they are off the mark. John F Kennedy’s 50th death anniversary is around the corner and you can bet your last buck that the US will go into overdrive with new books and special TV programmes on the late president. What did he have which causes these kinds of reactions even five decades after his death? Oodles of charisma coupled with the romantic notion of what could have been had JFK not been gunned down.
And then you think of Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie or George Clooney and it is clear that they just have that special something which makes all the difference. Likewise, the sport of boxing had big names but Mohammed Ali stands the tallest even today. And, yet, there is sometimes a price to pay for that stardom too as was evident in the tragic death of Princess Diana 16 years ago.