#farewellpost

Dear REMU family, 

The past month with all of you has granted an incredible amount of memories to look back upon. But that doesn’t mean that our time together is over.

I have found my tribe, my community of people that I want to surround myself with. You all inspire me and I can’t wait to continue creating, playing, learning, laughing and so on with every single one of you. Marat, Alan, and the entire REMU team… You’re the best. Thank you for everything, as this opportunity was life changing and I have learnt so much and will continue to grow with these tools (in both the entertainment business, as well as the way I live my life). It honestly has been the best summer ever, and the greatest month of my life. To everybody reading… Let’s keep on being us. It’s not about where you’re heading- It’s about where you are and the people you’re with. I’m glad you’re my people. And all we can do is enjoy where we are. I love all of you- as both artists, and more importantly… friends. This is not a farewell. It’s a see you soon. 

Love, 

It’s no small task making sugar cookies and bunnies complement each other.

One pairs well with milk and the other almost exclusively with carrots in a stew.

One is made from the earth, from grain and sugar cane watered by rain from gray, gloomy clouds. Even so, it’s more a product of man than nature.

The other, well, it’s a miracle it’s around. Thousands of years of evolution and genetic competition lead to a mammal perfectly suited to a particular environment – the well-kept garden.

Adventurously, we invented the most delicious smelling, most appetizing sugar cookie breaded bunny. The best part? Nobody saw it coming. It was the stuff of the movies.

And we tasted it. We took a bite, chewed, swallowed. 

Regurgitated.

We tasted it again. Took a bite, chewed, swallowed.

Regurgitated.

We tried everything to make the taste bearable. Plugged our noses, added seasoning, drowned it in sauce.

Nothing worked. We took the hit, chalked it up as a loss and walked away from the drawing board, never to make sugar cookie breaded bunny again.

Sugar Cookie Breaded Bunny didn’t founder because sugar cookies are bad or because bunnies are bad. It didn’t founder because we didn’t try hard to make them good together. And it didn’t founder because the temperature wasn’t right in the oven or the ingredients weren’t fresh. It foundered because sugar cookies and bunny rabbits are better paired with other things. Things that compliment them. Like milk. Or carrots in a stew.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

coolcolcol​ (bunny),

Thank you for trying with me. And thank you for failing with me too.

Thank you for being the bunny to my sugar cookie. And thank you, thank you, thank you for the adventure.

                                                                                     Cheers,

Mohammed Shami was charging in, in search of that last wicket. He was bowling fast inswingers to uproot the stumps, looking for that gap between bat and pad. I am not sure he realized, if he had got what he was aiming for, he would end a great career of India’s most profound cricketer.

Sachin Tendulkar was standing at square leg position. Not knowing when it would all end. Probably rehearsing his thank you speech. For sure, he would have known that the end was near. Shami clean bowled the last West Indies batsman and Tendulkar, like he has celebrated every win during his career, jumped into the air – hands raised – and came running to collect a stump as a souvenir, for one last time. It was all over. Sachin Tendulkar would not return to a cricket ground in India colors again.

It was hard for me to digest the happenings. India had won a test match. The commentators were going gaga over the great man’s career. Team India was giving a guard of honor. And I was sitting in my drawing room watching live, shedding tears. Cricket has made me emotional even before. That six which Dhoni hit to cap off that memorable night in the same ground had driven me crazy and I cried out of joy. But this was different. This was a sudden smack. This felt like a break up. It hardly gave me time to think. I felt emptied. That straight drive. That upper cut. That backfoot punch. That raising of the bat on reaching a milestone. All gone together. Forever!

I gathered myself. Sat in front of the television waiting to hear the great man talk. He spoke. He thanked everyone he could. He said his last words as a professional cricketer. He cried. He went around the ground waving to the thousands who stayed back, until he took his last step into the dressing room. He was carried on the shoulders of the captain and his heir while the police were parrying away any obstructions. And that was that. Sachin Tendulkar had finished playing cricket for India.

His last innings as the greatest two-down batsman in test cricket history ended with the opposition captain holding on to a tough chance in the slips. Darren Sammy, the catcher, felt as if he had committed a crime cutting short Sachin’s fairy tale final innings as he was on his way towards a 101st international hundred. Dinesh Ramdin, the wicket keeper consoled Sammy that it is okay. That gesture felt like consoling me as well. That it is okay. It has ended. Everything has an end. And after all, it was not a Bradman-like or a Ganguy-like anti-climax. But, Tendulkar, unlike any other batsman in the sport, is expected to depart only after reaching the magical three-figure mark. Even a match winning eightly-plus score would be termed injustice on Tendulkar’s part. And that is why, a well compiled 74 runs was just good but not magnificent for many who turned up to watch his last innings.

To recap where all this sinking feeling had actually started – Tendulkar started walking down the stairs after having waited for Vijay to be termed out. The cameraman followed him all the way until he reached the pitch. It was not the modern-age spider cam. It was a cameraman who walked all along in to the middle of the ground. The cameraman was not blocked. Neither by the umpires, nor by the security guards on the boundary ropes. The opposition also waited. No cameraman ever accompanied a middle order batsman to the pitch. Only the openers get such coverage. But even while Tendulkar was leveling the pitch, the cameraman was there – covering as much as he could, from the closest possible view, so that we TV viewers get what we wanted. It was Tendulkar’s moment. Nothing mattered.

And then, what followed was the last performance of the artist. The most elegant batsman started wielding his willow like only he can and his composure while batting did not display any hint of nervousness and his feet moved in a lilting fashion putting a doubt into our minds – why is he even retiring!! I am not sure if he felt it was his responsibility to entertain us with all his moves for one last time. But, Tendulkar tried every shot in the book. His multiple wafts attempting an upper cut of Tino Best made me realize that Tendulkar was desperate to give his fans as much as he could. His straight driving was sublime. His trademark flick to the square leg was at its most beautiful. But, to me, the stand out stroke was the backfoot punch, standing tall on his toes, through the cover region. The ball sped to the fence as if it was hit with immense power but Tendulkar hardly gave it a push. That Tendulkar backfoot punch, I say!  

Tendulkar looked good for a 100. A hundred in Mumbai in his last innings. What-an-end it would have been. And then, he decided to prod a half turning delivery to edge the ball into Sammy’s reliable hands. To add to that list of quiz questions on Tendulkar – add this one as well: Who was the bowler who dismissed Sachin Tendulkar in his last international innings. Because, not even a wild guess would land you anywhere near to the answer. It is Narsingh Deonarine. Throughout his career, Tendulkar has gifted his wicket to little-known bowlers. May be, he was too good for the best bowlers around and was tentative against these part timers.

After enduring the unending pressures of being the most important batsman in the Indian line up for almost 20 years, Tendulkar finally decided that he could pave way for the next generation. He might have been assured that the once famous Indian batting line up would go into the hands of the very capable and talented youngsters like Pujara, Kohli, Dhawan and Rohit. People called for his retirement after Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman announced their retirements but may be, he felt there was a need for him to stay until India found some stability and consistency. As I have always said, only Tendulkar would have known the best time for him to retire.

To say Thank You would be an understatement. Tendulkar has not just given us countless moments of glory and pride. He has taught us the way we can lead life by committing ourselves to our passion. You can learn a lot from Tendulkar’s career. After having lost his beloved father mid-way through the world cup, he returned back to his team’s duties after attending to his father’s rituals, and scored a hundred. That just shows how much serving the country’s cricket team meant to him. After witnessing hundreds of Mumbai inmates killed via an act of terrorism, he provided India with an opportunity to rejoice – chasing down 380+ against England with an unbeaten hundred. Even after announcing his retirement, though he didn’t had to, he chose to represent his Mumbai ranji team for one last time, and made sure that he got his team to winning shores. He brought sanctity to the 22-yard strip by keeping it close to his heart - after all, the artist respects the stage that provided him the opportunity to showcase his talent. And more importantly, his thank you speech told us that we shouldn’t forget our well wishers and people who have encouraged us. Every step in his journey can be carved into a moral science lesson and as Dhoni asserted – he is the most ideal role model. You cannot ask for a better source of inspiration. Tendulkar has been awarded India’s highest civilian honor but I guess, he was awarded the best honor when people said – “If cricket is a religion, Sachin is God!”.