On the night of 24th April 1973, the Cosmos conspired, to yield an inexorable force. A force destined to hold a piece of wood in its hands, and with it the attention of the world.
That's how one would describe Demi-God of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar's birth. His Demi-Godness makes it difficult to illustrate his prodigious, relentless feats simply because unlike language, he knows no boundaries. People have been mesmerized, some hypnotized, but none have been left unaffected by his willow-yielding prowess.
You need to know the game to watch it, they say, such is the intricacy of it. But you don't need to know much when Sachin Tendulkar is batting. A look on the faces of the spell-bound spectators, ranging from the street hawker to the age-old connoisseur, would tell you he is special.
What exactly is so great about him? There have been and there are other greats, aren't there. "Yeah, sure. But none like him", would be the probable reply, if you asked such a question in India. But really, what is it?
An ability to see the goal through the thickest forest. And to attain it. Trucks full of it all. In general terms that would be it. In terms of cricket, it would mean that he can see the ball and judge its bounce,turn and swing, decide what shot to play, and play it. All with the finesse of a Leonardo da Vinci and power of a Pentium III processor.
But let's not argue about who is the greatest. We are fortunate enough to see him play, and you have to agree he is good. So turn on the TV sets and see him practice his craft. For his magic will make you forget all else.