By: Keyur Seta

Sachin Tendulkar walking back to the pavilion to a rousing applause from his home crowd after playing his last ever innings of 74 runs will surely be one of cricket’s most memorable moments, if not the most memorable. For me, that scene is on par with India’s World Cup triumph at the same venue – Wankhede Stadium. It was an emotional moment not only for Indian cricket lovers but for cricket fans all over the world as they won’t be seeing their earthly God bat again.

However, as surprising as it may sound, I am feeling uneasy after reading the whole lot of over-emotional comments on social media after the Master Blaster got out. Although I too am an ever-worshipping fan of Sachin, I think we are going overboard by emotions. Let’s face it – he had to retire one day. The poor lad has been playing for 24 long years. How much more do you expect from him? He is a human being after all, although we prefer to address him as God.

Instead of the emotional atyachar, we should thank God (real one) for our timing on earth. We have got a chance to witness his entire celebrated career of 24 years. In other words, we have received lessons of inspiration in the most enjoyable manner. I don’t mean inspiration only for budding cricketers but for people from all walks of life; such has been the magnanimity of Sachin!

But apart from inspiration, the reason why Sachin stands out from the rest is his humble, down-to-earth nature. How many of us would retain their humbleness even after receiving such Godly status? Very few! This lesson of humanity is another message that Sachin has indirectly given us always. This is Being Human in actual sense!

Lastly, thank you Sachin for showing us an ideal example of a perfect human being!

(To see the memorable farewell speech by SACHIN, click HERE.)

Sachin walking back to the pavilion after playing the last innings of his career

Here’s a poem I had written for Sachin on his birthday in 2011:

Unki Karamaton Ne Kiya Jawan

Jab se paon sambhale humne zameen par,
Unhone paon jamaye khel ke maidan par,
Chalne lage hum duniya samajne,
Ve chalne lage apni takdeer banane,

Hue bade to museebaten badhi,
Unhe bhi tikaon ki badhaen nadi,
Bhagwan dilate humen museebaton se chhutkara,
Unhone tikaon ko balle se de mara

Apekshaon ke boj se jab hum thak jate,
Un par ladi sau karod apekshaon ko dekhte,
Ve jab dete apekshaon ko hathiyar mein badal,
Prerna lekar hum karte us par amal

Hue hum jawan unke vikas ke samantar,
Rahega is baat ka garv humen jeevanbhar,
Usi garv se dete hai aapko varshganth pe salam,
Vishvabhar mein ooncha rahen sadaiva aapka naam