Sachin

I asked myself that do I know Sachin.

I thought about it and said yes, I do know Sachin Bhowmik. He was a good scriptwriter having written An Evening in Paris and Karan Arjun. I got offended. I said that this is not the Sachin I am talking about.

It suddenly dawned on me who I was thinking about. I said again, Yes I know Sachin. He is one part of the music director duo Sachin-Jigar, of the Shuddh Desi Romance and Shor in the City. This answer really offended me. I now really started thinking how stupid and insensitive I am to all the people of India.

While I am getting offended, I said I know who you are talking about. The greatest music director of all time – Sachin Dev Burman, the Sachin Da, the man, the person who gave us innumerable hits. But where was I going to listen? I now decided that I am a complete nincompoop. I will now start criticizing myself in the media of the country which is crazy about Sachin. I will allege political stupidity, illiteracy, insensitivity, rudeness, and many other things.

I was now getting scared.

I gave it another shot. I said I know Sachin of the Akhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se and Balika Badhu fame.

I now lost it completely. I told myself that you idiot, I am talking about Sachin Tendulkar. The greatest ever. The best ever. It is your duty to know him. And every time you talk about him, your head has to bow in reverence and you have to deposit Rs 10000000 in the bank account of each of his fans. Otherwise, they will come and beat you.

I understood all that but then I asked myself – what if I do not care about cricket, Indians, and Bharat Ratna but am interested in tennis, films, music, and scriptwriting, what should I do? I refused to answer and slapped myself very hard. I think I will read on cricket and Sachin.

I will then read a bit more on NaMo. I will then survive and actually succeed in life.

About the Author: Ashwini Mathur is a resident of Hyderabad. In the past, he has worked at GSK Pharmaceuticals as a Senior General Manager and at Novartis after that. He has a Master’s degree in Mathematics from IIT Delhi, a Ph.D. in biostatistics from University and College Berkeley, California, and an executive MBA from IIM Bangalore.