I was just checking some old slam books, the ones we used to get filled by our friends before Facebook. I saw this one from grade 6th where most of my friends filled the ambition section with” I want to be Sachin Tendulkar”. This made me delay my chamomile tea induced sleep plans and do justice to the master himself on the eve of his final test.

Who are we, if not measured by our impact on others? That’s who we are! We’re not who we say we are, we’re not who we want to be — we are the sum of the influence and impact that we have, in our lives, on others.

Carrying the hopes of a nation through two and a half decades of poverty, corruption, terrorist attacks, natural calamities. Embalming distraught and misery stricken minds by redefining the way a game is played. Inspiring a generation to channelize their energies and being the perfect role model, leading to the development of the current set of world beaters in the India cricket team. The perfect gift to all of us this Children’s day is to see this deity name Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, who inspired us throughout our childhood, share his genius for one last time.

The journey, the numbers, the achievements will all be talked about but what this Man did by instilling hope into peoples mind and changing their lives cannot be talked about enough. The mere news of Tendulkar scoring a century made us heal from accidents, forget bad results at school, overlook the tough day at work and sleep with a smile on our faces. The sincere demeanor coupled with the effortless flamboyance will surely leave its mark on everyone who knows cricket.

Sachin’s name will echo across the cricket fraternity for eternity. The 10 cricketers playing along with him tomorrow will vouch for it. Each player in the current team was inspired by Sachin at a point in his life, forget the gamesmanship, by the mentality. Sachin’s passion, dedication, responsibility and humbleness towards cricket and his country are perfect examples to help all of us achieve our own goals.

Sachin is the kind of personalities, who make people forget geographical boundaries and just admire his ingenious. I can imagine the confused bewilderment Australian fans found themselves in when the Sachin storm hit them in Sharjah. The same feeling will be shared by all of the countries he has played against.

“Try to pay homage to Sachin by doing whatever you do with the same dedication and passion that this legend displayed in playing for his country.”