Tuesday, April 6, 2010

I am a fan of Saraswati Vaidyanathan, who is a fan of Sachin Tendulkar!


Sachin Tendulkar and Saraswati Vaidyanathan - Who is the fan of whom, here?!


As soon as we cross 50 years of age, we tend to forget things or we think that it is normal to forget things. But when I read this article of 87 year old Saraswati Vaidyanathan, who is not only an ardent fan of our cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, but keeps a pucca record of his career records in her fingertips.

Now, to the article which came in 'The Hindu' dt. 31st March '10:

As 87-year-old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan leans back on the couch, you almost expect her to pick up a pair of needles and start knitting. Instead she reaches for the television remote and surfs channels, only to stop at one telecasting cricket. There's a smile and a prayer on her lips — Sachin Tendulkar is at the crease. A Tendulkar fan and probably the senior most member of the cricketer's fan club, she says, “I have been watching Sachin play from the time he started. He was 16 then. Twenty years later, he still does everything right.”

Saraswathi may be frail now but her memory remains as fresh as ever. She effortlessly rattles off Tendulkar's records and match figures and like a fond grandmother refers to him as chota bachcha. As I quiz her about his achievement, she says, “As of now, he has 314 runs in the IPL. Mumbai Indians have played 7 matches and won 6. In ODIs he has notched up 17,594 runs and in Test matches he has scored 13,447 runs…” “Do you remember the '93 Hero Cup match against South Africa?” she asks and adds, “In the last over, they needed 6 runs to win. The situation seemed impossible. Lekin yeh bachcha took the ball from Azharuddin's hand and bowled, resulting in a run-out and conceding only 3 runs. We won,” she claps.

Her son interrupts her reciting of Tendulkar's records and says “She is very sure some day Tendulkar will meet her. Once when she was asked if she wanted to meet her grandchildren in Australia, she said, “I don't want to meet anyone, I only want to meet Sachin Tendulkar.” Saraswathi now looks coy, blushes and says, “If I ever meet him, I'll tell him to keep playing with confidence and keep entertaining us.”



The April 1 issue of The Hindu Metro Plus
broke the story of how Saraswathi, unmindful of her advancing age, had kept track of Tendulkar's glorious journey. She maintained her own statistics of the maestro, kept awake all night to follow his innings on television and prayed for him.

Sachin meets Saraswati: The air suffused with warmth, Sachin Tendulkar greeted a special admirer at a city hotel here (Chennai), on Monday (5th April, '10). The legend approached the 87 year old Saraswathi Vaidyanathan with folded hands and sought her blessings.

Her body weak, Saraswathi had difficulty walking. Yet her eyes laughed when she saw Tendulkar in flesh and blood. Not wanting the moment to fly away and turning distinctly emotional, she said, “I am lucky to meet you.” Tendulkar corrected her. “No, I am lucky to meet you,” he said.

She then gifted Tendulkar an idol of Lord Ganesh. Tendulkar touched her feet, again in all humility. Soon, he autographed her prized possession — a bat signed by several accomplished cricketers. The maestro's name had been missing from the list.

Saraswathi recalled Tendulkar's records — to the legend's great delight — and expressed her wish that he complete 100 international centuries. Tendulkar is seven short of the landmark. “I will,” replied a beaming Tendulkar.

Saraswathi's second son C.V. Venkitakrishnan said: “Whenever she has a health issue, all she needs to do is to watch Tendulkar bat. All her pain disappears. He is a tonic for her.”

After reading this article, I feel awkward to utter the words, 'marandhuttein, marandhu pochchu' (forgot, forgotten)! I thought it was natural to forget things all these days. Funny thing is, I am surrounded by younger people than me forgetting things often...this gave me one more reason to say 'I forgot'! My friend's daughter always says that 'if I analyze the reason why I forget so many things, I will know that those things are not very very important or I think that they are not important'. I feel this is correct. I have not yet started forgetting how to cook! Or prepare the sweets/savouries which we do on the festival days, which we do only once in a year, I don't seem to forget!

I really admire this lady, who is passionate about cricket, which is not a woman's normal hobby and happily enjoying the game. Maybe this is one of the reason she is so active, mentally and physically, at this age!


Photo courtesy: The Hindu

32 comments :

Swaram said...

Woww! This is so refreshing Sandhya. I so want to meet her now! I luv it when ppl r so passionate abt things and don't think age is a barrier!

My husband gives the same reason too for forgetting everything but remembering cricket records .. its all abt interests lol ;)

LIVE ON CAMPUS said...

If you want to know about the latest statistics on Sachin's achievements, just call Saraswathi Vaidyanathan at 2222-2222. Grandma has all the figures on her fingertips. http://bit.ly/a9hyhH

Kavita Saharia said...

Beautiful story,she must be a huge fan of Sachin,and to remember all his statistics at this age is something very impressive .Her wish to meet Sachin is fulfilled ..just great !!

kanagu said...

this is really inspiring... today morning I have read about her and it meant what is called as Passion :) :)

Bikram said...

WOW and we thought we are fans of Tendulakar.. Reading your article is quiet interesting .. especially knowing that she is so Enthusiastic (not the correcr word) about him and He in turn coming and meeting her, shows what a good human being he is .. and How great she is ...

god bless both of them :) thanks for sharing this...

vimmuuu said...

I dont know what people ate in those days, my granddad (dads dad) is going to be 100 this august and believe it or not, he was playing cards with us a few days before and after my wedding. and the best part is, he never lost even one game !!! Donno how he did it !!!

Sandhya said...

Swaram: I remembered my mother and her mother, when I read this article, Swaram. My mother also was a cricket addict, unlike me. My grandmother used to read Kannada newspaper (Navabharatha), Kasturi etc. and used to discuss about politics and other happenings in the WORLD, till she died. I had never seen the bored look in her face anytime. She was always very very active till the last day.

Yes, its all about interests, LOL!


Kavita: The look on her face, when she is looking at Sachin in the photograph shows how happy she is, isn't it, Kavita.


Kanagu: Yes, Kanagu! Many people would have read this article, but I wanted to keep the beautiful photo in my blog...and some people might not know about it!


Bikram: You can notice the humble feeling in Sachin's face, in the photo. He seems to be very happy meeting her.


Vimmuuu: Like I replied for Swaram, they were doing everything with full concentration, like my grandmother.

Your grandfather seems to be a great man. Our best wishes to him for his 100th, vimmuuu! We may not see people like him in the future.

Saritha said...

Just today i saw her on NDTV,really she has got a excellent memory.I don't remember where i read about her but i read about her long back,she used to listen to radio commentory and then she never misses a match on tv that too sachin's.

Sachin is wonderful person,no celebraties nakras and he is down to earth guy,i was all smiling when i saw sachin speaking to her and touching her feet.God bless him.

radha said...

Nice to be so mentally active at her age. I read this in The Hindu too. But to say she wanted to meet Sachin instead of her grandchildren?... that is carrying it a little too far... And it was nice that her wish was fulfilled with the little master going to meet her.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post- great to read about an elderly lady with such a fantastic memory.

Yes, it must be because she is passionate about cricket!

Very nice of Sachin Tendulkar to meet her!

Anonymous said...

Interesting post- great to read about an elderly lady with such a fantastic memory.

Yes, it must be because she is passionate about cricket!

Very nice of Sachin Tendulkar to meet her!

Sandhya said...

Varunavi: Yes, Sachin is a down-to-earth person. This lady reminded me of my grand mother a lot, Saritha.


Radha: She is beaming at him in the photo! That statement is her son's!


Sachin: I have read that Sachin is very close to his grandma too. He seems to be a simple normal person. All this fame has not gotten into his head, apparently.

Pixie said...

She is such an inspiration isn't she?
I read the article too and was like "wow"!
and we never make an effort at our age to even try and remember stuff like birthdays and to pay the bill etc...
Awesome lady!

पूनम श्रीवास्तव said...

bahuthi achha laga dekhkarunke ashirvachano se to sachi kamanpuri tarah saro bar ho gaya hoga.yu aar great sachin.-----------------

poonam

Urmi said...

Wonderful story. Very well written. Really its amazing to see that at this age she remembers every minute details of Sachin's achievement. Its remarkable and I feel she is the biggest fan of Sachin.

SG said...

I am glad Mrs. Vaidyanathan has active interest in cricket even at this age. Kudos to her.

Aparna said...

Sachin Tendulkar is the darling of all Indians, but this is really fantastic.
What an inspiration this lady is. I wish and hope I would retain half her enthusiasm and joie de vivre when/if I reach her age.

Sandhya said...

Pixie: Yes, she is a great lady, Pixie. I lose interest in things very easily and tend to forget them. But she is continuing with her passion for cricket, which is a man's game and passion.


Jharokha: Welcome here! Sachin is always a great person, Poonam!


SG: In the TV interview, she recited the records of Sachin, like a small girl!


Aparna: I can't even dream of being like her at her age, Aparna!

R. Ramesh said...

boss S yr blog is getting more and more interesting ya...cheers..:)

Anonymous said...

The bond between both of them is palpable in the picture na?
Sachin's love and regard for her comes through .:)

Hats off to her awesome memory!

Though when I think about ti after reading your post I realize that my grandparents and my parents all have awesome memories...

Its only the younger generation that has such an overdose of information in todays times that one is compelled to 'forget ' a few things for the sake of sanity:)


Also as someone said some things might not even be important:)

R. Ramesh said...

sandhya jiii..tamizh puthaandu vazhthukkal..cheers:)

Swaram said...

Hv an award for u on my blog Sandhya :)

Anonymous said...

Oh yes, I saw this programme on TV and was amazed :-)))) Nice post MM :-)

Sandhya said...

Ramesh: ungalukkum, ungal kudumbaththaarukkum, puththaandu nalvaazhththukkal - konjam lateaaa wish panren, B'lore poyirundein.


Indyeah: Yes, our parents and grandparents were better than us...Our children too might say the same things about us too!Oooph, my son forgets everything now itself!


Swaram: Will come and collect it, thank you!


Writerzblock: Yes, she is great! Did you watch her interview in NDTV?

Thank you!

Deeps said...

Now I am a fan of Saraswati Vaidyanathan too.That was such a wonderful,feel-good article,Sandhya!

I've heard even Lata Mangeshkar is huge huge fan of Sachin Tendulkar.

Sandhya said...

deeps: Yes, I too have heard that Lata Mangeshkar is a big fan of Tendulkar. He seems to be a soft-natured person. Everyone seems to like him, including us, fans!

PNA said...

Lucky her! and lucky him...and what a memory...but what ur friend's daughter says is absolutely correct, same with time...I have no time meaning, I don't want to make the time to do that particular thing..

cricket has given so much to so many ppl and Sachin said yes to 100 wow! waiting for that milestone too

:)

Sandhya said...

PNA: Welcome here, PNA!

We never forget very important things, just day-to-day things, which don't affect us much, I have noticed!

Sachin will reach 100 and might tell her also...he is that type of a person!

Destiny's child... said...

Amazing! :)

hitch writer said...

Oh Sandhya I cannot tell you how heartwarming it was to read this story... !!! My heart really swelled with joy as I read her meeting Sachin... !!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D

Absolutely loved reading this !!!!! Thanks for sharing !!!!

Haddock said...

I am a fan of Sachin (and Gavaskar) and it has got nothing to do with cricket.

Sandhya said...

Destiny's child: Welcome DC!


hitchwriter: Today is Sachin's birthday and I loved Saurav's wholehearted tribute to him in Headlines Today! Everyone loves him!


Haddock: Most of the people love him not only for his cricket but for his good nature too, like you, I feel!

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