Smashin Tondulkar

“I have seen god, he bats at no. 4 for India.”- Mathew Hayden

“Nothing bad can happen to us if we’re on a plane in India with Sachin Tendulkar on it.” – Hashim Amla, the South African batsman, reassures himself as he boards a flight.

“Sometimes you get so engrossed in watching batsmen like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar that you lose focus on your job.”- Yaseer Hameed in pakistani newspaper.

“To Sachin, the man we all want to be.”- Andrew Symonds wrote on an Aussie T-shirt he autographed specially for Sachin.

“Beneath the helmet, under that unruly curly hair, inside the cranium, there is something we don’t know, something beyond scientific measure. Something that allows him to soar, to roam a territory of sport that, forget us, even those who are gifted enough to play alongside him cannot even fathom. When he goes out to bat, people switch on their TV sets and switch off their lives.”- BBC on Sachin

“Tujhe pata hai tune kiska catch chhoda hai?”- Wasim Akram to Abdul Razzaq when the latter dropped Sachin’s catch in 2003 WC.

“Sachin is a genius. I’m a mere mortal.”- Brian Charles Lara

“We did not lose to a team called India …we lost to a man called Sachin.”- Mark Taylor, during the test match in Chennai (1997)

“The more I see of him the more confused I’m getting to which is his best knock.”- M. L. Jaisimha

“The joy he brings to the millions of his countrymen, the grace with which he handles all the adulation and the expectations and his innate humility – all make for a one-in-a-billion individual,”- Glen McGrath

“I can be hundred per cent sure that Sachin will not play for a minute longer when he is not enjoying himself. He is still so eager to go out there and play. He will play as long as he feels he can play,”- Anjali Tendulkar


Shah Rukh Khan: “There was a big party where stars from bollywood and cricket wer e invited. Suddenly, there was a big noise, all wanted to see approaching Amitabh Bachhan. Then Sachin entered the hall and Amitabh was leading the queue to get a grab of the GENIUS!”
- Shah Rukh Khan in an interview.

“India me aap PrimeMinister ko ek Baar Katghare me khada kar sakte hain..Par Sachin Tendulkar par Ungli nahi utha Sakte.. “- Navjot Singh Sidhu on TV

“He can play that leg glance with a walking stick also.”- Waqar Younis

“Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. I was bowling to Sachin and he hit me for two fours in a row. One from point and the other in between point and gully. That was the last two balls of the over and the over after that we (SA) took a wicket and during the group meeting I told Jonty (Rhodes) to be alert and I know a way to pin Sachin. I delivered the first ball of my next over and it was a fuller length delevery outside offstump. I shouted ‘catch’. To my astonishment the ball was hit to the cover boundary. Such was the brilliance of Sachin. His reflex time is the best I have ever seen. Its like 1/20th of a sec. To get his wicket better not prepare. Atleast you wont regret if he hits you for boundaries.- Allan Donald

“On a train from Shimla to Delhi , there was a halt in one of the stations. The train stopped by for few minutes as usual. Sachin was nearing century, batting on 98. The passengers, railway officials, everyone on the train waited for Sachin to complete the century. This Genius can stop time in India!”- Peter Roebuck – Aussie journalist

“Sachin cannot cheat. He is to cricket what (Mahatma) Gandhiji was to politics. It’s clear discrimination.”- NKP Salve, former Union Minister when Sachin was accused of ball tempering

“There are 2 kind of batsmen in the world. One Sachin Tendulkar. Two all the others.”- Andy Flower
“Commit all your sins when Sachin is batting. They will go unnoticed because even GOD is watching.”- A hoarding in Sydney

“Even my father’s name is Sachin Tendulkar.”- Tendulkar’s daughter, Sara, tells her class her father’s name after the teacher informs them of a restaurant of the same name in Mumbai.

PS:Entire post is lifted from i3j3cricket.com.
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Common Man's Hero

If an up and coming actor is offered the prospect of acting only in 9 movies in the first ten years of his career, he would be skeptical. However, if I sweeten it up by saying that 3 of the nine movies would hog the theatres for more than a year and one would create record for the longest run that would hold for 60 years, he may be tempted to take it. Add some curve balls like a jail term of 30 months, few flops (considering the previous runs) and eventual sanyasa you have a classic movie in the making.

Welcome to the world of The Star, The Man, The Actor MKT a.k.a Mayavaram Krishnamurthy Thyagaraja Bhagavathar. We celebrate his birth centenary on 1st March 2010 and it could be the right time to have a look at his life and pay our tributes.

Born into a family of goldsmiths, his interest in music drove him away from family business towards stage. At the age of 10, our man made his stage debut in Harischandra. After that, there was no turning back. Some scorching performances, public adoration and hard work landed him his first movie "Pavalakkodi", a remake of his super hit play.

His arrival was a moral booster to the common public because up until then, the movie and carnatic music as a business and practice was dominated by a members of a particular caste. His arrival was a breath of fresh air to the public.

His first movie marathon was "Chintamani " which created box office record running for more than a year. However, his next film, "Ambikapathy" directed by Ellis R. Dungan created quite a stir with some pretty steamy scenes involving the lead pair including a pristine smooch by our man. "Ambikapathy" broke the record set by "Chintamani", catapulting baghavathar to the pinnacle of super stardom.

"Ambikapathy" was followed by "Sathyaseelan" (home production), "Thiruneelakantar" ( the songathon remembered by everyone until this day), "Ashok Kumar" and Sivakavi" in 1943.

In the year 1944, THE movie was released. "Haridas" a unassuming, Indianised Casanova played by Baghavathar was THE super hit movie of all times. Running for more than three years on the trot, the movie saw off 3 deepavalis.

In the same year, Baghavathar was convicted along with NS Krishnan and four others for the murder of journalist Lakshmikanthan. Post an appeal, Baghavathar and NSK were released after 30 months prison term. This ended the career of two of the most versatile and endearing stars Tamil industry could ever have.

After the jail term, film offered reduced and Baghavathar found himself alienated. He produced his own movies. He acted in five more movies before passing on in the year 1959.

His acting exploits should not and cannot overshadow his talent as a carnatic singer par excelence. being a member of Tamizh Isai Movement did not give him enough opportunities in the Bhramin dominated field. He never gave a performance at the annual thayagaraja aaradhanai, a celebration of carnatic music by the "elite".