I am not in a race with Anna Hazare: Sachin Tendulkar

I I am not in a race with Anna Hazare: Sachin Tendulkar

On the morning of September 28, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar, the world's most feted batsman, walked into his new Rs 76 crore, three-storey home on Perry Cross Road in Mumbai's Bandra suburb. Accompanied by his mother, wife and two children, Tendulkar distributed sweets to slum children who waited outside the seven-foot-high walls to pay homage to their cricket god. A home of his own has been one of Tendulkar's special dreams. And he was thrilled to have it finally come true.

But there is one dream the nation has been waiting for to come true ever since Tendulkar scored his 99th hundred during the World Cup at Nagpur against South Africa on March 12: his 100th century. It will be the crowning glory of a career that has spanned 22 years and 33,076 runs (Tests and ODIs) and 199 wickets (Tests and ODIs).

And there is another that the master blaster doesn't speak of much: To help provide quality, affordable education to the eight million children who are out of school. At Mumbai's Yash Raj Studios on September 18, he spent six hours offering cricketing tips to underprivileged students from across India via satellite, raising Rs 7 crore in donations to be spent on an estimated 140 schools in India that lack facilities like libraries, drinking water, specialised teachers and toilets. The organisers, Coca-Cola India and Charities Aid Foundation, hope to replicate the project every year to include more schools across the country. Next year, the figure could double.

At 38, after 22 years in the game in which he has smashed most batting records, he is not done with cricket. Excerpts from an interview with Deputy Editor Shantanu Guha Ray of India Today.

Q: Will anyone in India talk cricket after the whitewash in England? Perhaps not the best time to start this school project?

Tendulkar: I have said this before, defeats do not depress me. They motivate me. I know I did not get too many runs in the series and had to return hurt. But one series does not impact my game. One loss does not take away my fans.

You are raising cash for 140 schools this year. Next year the figure is set to double. This could mean a lot of time away from the game. In India, these efforts often get politicised.

It all depends on you. If it's selfless, then no one will point fingers. If efforts to do social work are couched in selfish motives, then they will die a premature death. Why would my efforts get politicised? I have values I inherited from my father. He helped many. Anyone, even a postman knocking on our door would get a glass of water and some sweets. I want students to rush to school every day. They should feel happy going to school. I must ensure that they have facilities.

So you want to do in education what Anna Hazare is doing to eradicate corruption?

He's doing his work, I am doing mine. I don't think our efforts should be compared. This isn't a I versus him race.

Interview: Sachin TendulkarWill social work take up most of your time after cricket?

I have not announced my retirement. I am doing something along with my career as a cricketer.

What prompted your sudden focus on children's education?

This is not a recent thing with me. In fact, I have been thinking about it for some time. I think more than corruption, ensuring quality education, drinking water and proper sanitation to millions in India is a bigger challenge. We have set a high goal of a corruption-free nation but are resigned to lower expectations when it comes to education. We have the world's largest number of children who do not have access to education. I don't understand why. Schools across India do not have teachers, libraries, playing grounds and even toilets. I do not want to see empty classrooms, empty libraries. I do not want to see cattle grazing on fields meant to be cricket or football grounds.

And the girl child...

We have one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. There are over 200 million illiterate women in India. This low literacy negatively impacts not just their lives but also their families' and the country's economic development. A girl's lack of education also has a negative impact on the health and well-being of her children. Tell me, why should a girl return home after the first class because there are no proper toilets in her school?

Does this bother you because your daughter enjoys certain privileges at school?

She does and so did I. That's how we both know what others miss out on. It's not just about education. It's about bringing the underprivileged into the mainstream. I want to do it. I call it a new chapter in my life.

As a student, did you enjoy any special facilities?

The only facility I enjoyed as a student was when I was allowed to represent Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and granted permission for special classes.

Your celebrity status will lead to chaos if you were to visit a slum.

I could visit when the city sleeps. I would like to visit them unannounced.

What if the Prime Minister calls upon you to perform a bigger role for the country?

He hasn't called me yet (laughs). Maybe he wants to see me playing some more cricket. I will see when the call does come.

Why Shoaib needed Tendulkar in his book

As they say 'any publicity is good publicity' and nobody personifies this statement as fittingly as Shoaib Akhtar. Bidding adieu to cricket earlier this year, Akhtar has broken the silence with his autobiography "Controversially Yours", and as the name suggests it has created a stir already.

His comments on match-winning abilities of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, no matter which era he was referring to, has left the Indian fans livid, who want him to apologise to the batting greats. My take? Let the poor guy be! And before you start calling me names, here's why I say so…

Tendulkar and Dravid have achieved too much in their illustrious careers and with so much dignity that they hardly need to pay any heed to what Akhtar has written in his book. Akhtar, who has more controversies to his name than the times he dismissed these two Indian stalwarts, could never do justice to the talent he had. Yes, the guy was tremendously gifted and could have joined the league of great pacers of all times but his erratic ways were self-destructive. And no matter what he says and writes, the world has seen his rise and fall.

His Pakistan senior Wasim Akram, who Akhtar accused of being against him, hit back and said that it is Shoaib and only Shoaib who should be blamed for his downfall. To an extent it is true. However, I would also blame the Pakistan board for not handling its players well, ever.

On the lighter side, how many times have we actually seen Akhtar in news for good reasons? I fail to recollect. He has mastered the art of creating controversies in the last 13 years. Interestingly, he has accused the media of creating a row over his book. But then Shoaib what did you expect for a book that's named 'Controversially Yours' with you being the author? In his book, he has touched upon all those topics which he knows will evoke strong reactions, be it match-fixing, ball tampering, Pakistan dressing room infighting, etc. And then his story could not have been complete without the Indian batting legend.

As web journalists, we have an internal joke - put Sachin in the headline and the story will do well. For e.g: If nobody in India is reading your England-Windies match report, headline it like this "As Sachin recovers from injury, Windies beat England". Of course it is a joke, but it suggests a fact - Sachin sells big time in India. And the entire controversy has just helped the book have a bumper sale. People are curious to know what the pacer has to say about Sachin and Dravid.

So if not on the field, I would let the man enjoy his fifteen minutes of fame and some literary success (if I may call it). Anyway what's written need not be true but he's entitled to have an opinion, a belief and a perception. And trust me if I get to meet him, I would seriously thank him for not naming his book "'Truly' Yours", else the genre of his book would have been 'humour' and I would have died laughing even before reading the preface.

Emotional about move into new home, says Sachin

Sachin Tendulkar fulfilled his long cherished dream of living in a house of his own on Wednesday as he moved into a sprawling bungalow at Perry Cross Road in suburban Bandra here.

Tendulkar has shifted his residence from La Mer Housing Society, also in Bandra west, to the spacious villa that is spread over 6,000 square feet. The Master Blaster said that moving into the new house was an emotional moment for him. (Also see: Pictures of Sachin's new home)

"Everyone has a dream of owning a house. I, too, had this dream. I am happy that I was able to fulfil it. The flat where I earlier used to live, I had received it under the sports quota. I have now vacated that place, so that some other sportsman can live there," he told reporters outside his villa in Mumbai on Wednesday.

"We had done the 'gruha shanti' and 'vastu-puja' on June 11, before I left for England. I could not visit Mumbai after that, but now that I am in the city, today I brought my mother to show the place," the senior cricketer said.

"I have also lived here after the puja. But I have not been able to bring the children here yet," he said.

The batting maestro's new home has been reconstructed on a plot that earlier housed a dilapidated bungalow, which Sachin had bought for Rs. 39 crore in 2007.

The villa has been secured with high-walled fencing to avoid curious onlookers. CCTV cameras and sensors have also been installed.

Besides the three storeys above the ground level, the villa, designed after taking into consideration Tendulkar's likes and dislikes, reportedly has two underground basements.

According to reports, Tendulkar and his wife Anjali are likely to have their bedroom on the top floor, while the rooms of their two children -- son Arjun and daughter Sara -- and a guest room will occupy the two floors below.

A temple, drawing and dining rooms, besides arrangements for displaying various awards and trophies won by Tendulkar, who holds most of the batting records and is one short of completing a century of international tons, will occupy most of the ground floor.

The first basement will house servant quarters and master surveillance room, while the second basement has been kept for Tendulkar's passion -- cars. It is said to have a parking capacity of a large number of cars.

Besides all these, there is a swimming pool on the terrace of the house, reports said.

Tendulkar is currently out of action as he is suffering from an inflammation on his toe. He missed the five ODIs against England and he is not playing in the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 tournament. He's likely to miss at least the first two ODIs against the visiting England side next month.

Asked about the status of his injuries, Tendulkar refused to comment.

Meanwhile, chaos prevailed just before Tendulkar spoke to the media, after a big crowd, including school children between the age group of five and eight years, had gathered outside the new villa to catch a glimpse of him.

With the waiting mediamen and the fans getting impatient, a commotion occurred which resulted to a few children suffering minor injuries.

Earlier in the morning, members of the Awami Welfare Association Maharashtra, got into an argument with the members of the housing society, opposite Tendulkar's villa, over displaying a welcome banner for the champion cricketer.

However, the matter was soon resolved and the banner was finally put up.