When the BSE Sensex betrayed Sachin

(Caveat: If you think Sachin should not be in the Indian team anymore, stop, don’t read any further!)

The economic reforms, political turmoil, interspersed cricketing glory, IT supremacy, and robust economic growth, India has seen quite a bit, changed even more, all this in the last two decades. Through this eventful journey if there was one hero that Indians, unanimously, came to love and respect it was, and to a certain extent still is, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

Besides his on-field achievements, what has endeared us Indians to the Bombay Bomber has been his humility and statesman like qualities.

Countless paeans have been written to glorify him, but what the Times Of India did more recently was a totally different, yet interesting, take on the master’s journey, ‘Sensex hits 15K, tracks Sachin - yet again’, comparing his career chart with the rise and fall (repeat) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex. Both, in their own way, have captured the imagination of millions of Indians.

Let’s dwell some bit on this relationship.

In the initial stages of the marathon, the Sensex walked shoulder to shoulder with the Bombay Bomber, though both were rather sluggish, the former wedged in the clutches of the ‘closed’ Indian economy and the latter trying to cement his place in the arena.

Fewer ODI matches and low-scoring games, in those days, meant Sachin piled up ODI runs at a slow pace while the Sensex was beginning to reap the benefits of the now famous and well-understood economic reforms of 1991. But the master’s brilliance didn’t take too long to come to the fore and in a few years time Sachin assumed the leader’s role comfortably leaving behind the Sensex that was now on the decline owing to the political instability in the country and uncertain economic policies.

The Sensex remained in awe of the maestro for the next 10 years; Sachin made merry, Sydney to Sharjah, Johannesburg to Port-of-Spain. Once the 10,000 runs barrier was broken any thoughts of a meeting of the two Indian obsessions were imaginary.

The Legend of Sachin

Then came year 2005, the Sensex started trekking on a different trajectory, one that put it back in business. Soon enough it leveled with Sachin, July this year, going on to assume, what now looks like an unassailable lead.

At Vadodara, Sachin stepped on the field for his 400^th ODI match at age 34; if only time was on his side the Sensex with all its vagaries would’ve been a target in Sachin’s orbit. Nevertheless, the journey has been remarkable to say the least, while the stock market has had its fair share of blemishes, Sachin has managed to stay clear of them.

The recent brouhaha over his retirement and the outrageous media campaign to force him (along with Dravid and Ganguly) into retirement, though completely pointless as no one knows better about the right time than the legend himself, has certainly evoked thoughts of a looming vacuum that faces Indian cricket once the master hangs his boots. Runs will be scored, wickets will yet be taken, Indian team will still win matches and bring glory to the nation, but the sheer joy of the ball disappearing from the master’s willow, the undying cherubic smile, and the mischievous googlies will fade into memory.

One can only hope to marinate all that comes from the master in the coming days. While the Sensex strides on toward the 25,000 mark it will surely miss its companion of long!