An Open Letter to Sachin Tendulkar

Dear Sachin,

I feel sad. Even after 22 years of playing for the country, you are still expected to win matches on your own. We forget that apart from you there are 10 more players in the team. You have been the run machine in World Cups with an average …of 60. Even today while you yet again proved your class with a 111 the others around took it easy. You chased the ball in the outfield and ensured that your throws landed on top of the bails. Others preferred to drop catches or go back to the dressing room for a ‘rest’ while a substitute fielder came in. Sachin, the current Indian cricket team doesn’t deserve you. They don’t know what it is like to give one’s blood and sweat for this nation of a billion people. For them fame and money has come to easy and undeserving – not commensurate to the ’supposed talent’ that they posses. Do you remember what you had said to Tom Alter in that interview in 1989? “I just want to play cricket”. Sachin, let me also not hide the truth – you are not my favorite cricketer – but one plays favorites only with humans – not with Gods for they are revered, emulated and looked at in awe… [We expect Sachin to win this cup for us. But what about the other players? Are they supposed to be playing ludo in the dressing room? I hope that the rest of the team wake up and realize that they are not there to 'play' in the tournament, they are supposed to 'win' it - not for themselves, not for India but for the greatest Indian to have lived - Sachin Tendulkar. P.S: In the 1992, Hero Cup semi-final in Eden Gardens Kolkata (India Vs. SA), SA needed 6 runs to win off the last over. Tendulkar snatched the ball from Azhar and bowled a magnificent over to win that match for us. (He gave away only 3 runs). Maybe our team needs to watch that over to know what guts and glory are all about.] Sachin, I hope we win the final in Wankhede. If we don’t a billion people can only hang their heads in shame and ask for your forgiveness.

Regards,

One of your undying fans who:
1. Still goes crazy when you hit that straight drive and show us the manufacturer’s name on the bat.
2. Stayed awake late into the night before my end terms to watch that 100 in Sharjah in the midst of that sandstorm.
3. Relished every shot that you played to decimate Warne in 1998 and then Shoaib Akhtar in that 2003 World Cup against Pakistan.
4. Will stop watching cricket after you retire.

Sachin Tendulkar... On a Serious Note

Remember when you failed an examination. How many people recall that, your class, friends, relatives? You failed to make it to the IITs or IIMs. Who remembers. How many times have you had the feeling of being the best in your class, school , university, state….., you failed to get a visa stamped this quarter…, you missed a promotion this year…, how did it feel when you dad told you in your early twenties that you are good for nothing…..and now your boss tell you the same...   You keep introspecting and go into a shell when people most of whom don’t matter a dime in your life criticize you, back bite you, make fun of you. You are left sad and shattered and you cry when your own kin scoffs at you. You say I am feeling low today. It takes a lot from us to come out of these everyday situations and move on. A lot??? really?   Now here’s a man standing on the third man boundary in the last over of a world cup match. The bowler just has to bowl sensibly to win this game. What the man at the boundary sees is 4 rank bad bowls bowled without any sense of focus, planning or regret. India loses, yet again in those circumstances when he has done just about everything right. He does not cry. Does not show any emotion. Just keeps his head down and leaves the field. He has seen these failures for 22 years now. And not just his class, relatives, friends but the whole world has seen these failures. We are too immature to even imagine what goes on in that mind and heart of his. That’s why I would never want to be Sachin.   True, he has single handedly lifted to moods of this entire nation umpteen number of times. He has been an inspiration to rise above our mediocrity. Nobody who has ever lifted the willow even comes close to this man’s genius. His dedication and metal strength is unparallel. This is specially for those people who would have made fun of him again last night when India lost. They are people who are mediocre in their own lives. Who just scoff at others to create cheap fun. Who have lived in a small hole throughout their lives and thought they have seen the oceans.   Think about the man himself. He is 37 years of age. He has been playing almost non stop for 22 years. The way he was running and diving around the field last night would have put 22 year olds to shame. The way he played the best opening quickies in the world was breathtaking. He just keeps getting better which is by the way humanly impossible. Its not for nothing that people call him GOD. But still I don’t want to be in those shoes. We struggle in keeping our monotonous lives straight, lives which affect a limited number of people. Imagine what would be the magnitude of the inner struggle for him, pain both mental and physical, tears that have frozen with time, knees and ankles and every other joint in the body that is either bandaged or needs to be attended to every night, eyes that don’t sleep before a big game, bats that have scored 99 international tons and still see expectations from a billion people.   Well I think its time that his team realizes that enough is enough. They have an obligation, not towards their country alone but towards sachin. They need to win this one for him. Stay assured that he himself will still deliver and leave no stone unturned to make sure India wins this cup. This is not just a game, and he is not just a sportsman. Its much more than this. Words fail here...


Harsha Bhogle

Stop Unwanted Calls or Messages on Your Mobile - Register in NDNC

Telecom Regulatory Authority Of India (TRAI)’s issuance of “The Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2010” can be regarded as a more convenient approach towards providing mobile subscribers the choice to selectively choose telemarketing services.

The National Customer Preference Register (NCPR) of TRAI which will become effective from 1 January, 2011 allows customers to either completely block or choose telemarketing calls from pefedeined seven categories.

You can set your preferences  via Voice call, via IVRS and also through SMS. Here we look at how to register, deregister and change your preferences for telemarketing calls, through SMS.

Registration Your Tele Marketing Preference through SMS

You can set your preferences via SMS by sending an SMS to 1909. Follow the instructions given below carefully to completely block or partially allow tele marketing calls.

To avail the fully blocked option which blocks all seven categories, you have to send SMS START 0 to 1909.

For registering to partially blocked option, you have to send an SMS in the format  given below:

1. Send START 1 for receiving SMS relating to Banking / Insurance / Financial products / Credit Cards
2. Send START 2 for receiving SMS relating to Real Estate
3. Send START 3 for receiving SMS relating to Education
4. Send START 4 for receiving SMS relating to Health
5. Send START 5 for receiving SMS relating to Consumer goods and automobiles
6. Send START 6 for receiving SMS relating to Communication / Broadcasting / Entertainment / IT
7. Send START 7 for receiving SMS relating to Tourism and Leisure

You can also register to get telemarketing calls from more than one category by sending a single SMS. You need to include your preferred category numbers coma separated.

For example, if you want calls from Education and Health, you have to send an SMS in the format START 3, 4

When your options are received at the other end, the Access Provider will send you an SMS, asking for your confirmation.

When you reply, the Access Provider will register your preference and will  send a final SMS notifying the success of registration along with your unique registration number.

If you are sending an SMS like “START 0,2,3” with 0 (zero) included, the SMS will be treated as fully blocked.

Changing preference through SMS

Here we will show you how to change your already registered preferences with your new preference options.

1. You can stop existing options by sending an SMS STOP, followed by the preference number. For eg, if you want to stop the education related telemarketing calls, send STOP 3 to 1909.
2. If you want a new option to your existing options, you can send an SMS START, followed by your preference number. Eg, You can send an SMS “START 3” to start receiving calls from Education telemarketing agents.
3. After you send SMS to your Access Provider, you will get an SMS asking for your confirmation. When you reply, your preferences will get registered.
4. You also get an SMS indicating that your preferences are registered. This SMS will also have your unique registration number

De-Registration of preference through SMS

To deregister from the National Customer Preference Register, send “STOP” to 1909. You will then get a deregistration confirmation request via SMS. Once you confirm, the Access Provider will activate your option and inform you through SMS.