He wasn’t just a cricketer.

He was the God. God is the thing we look forward to when we are in trouble, God is the thing which instills faith in us that things are going to be safe when he is around, and God is the thing that gives us peace when we look at it. Sachin wasn’t one percent lesser than what god is to us. We looked forward to him when the rest of the team collapsed in heap. We found peace at his sight. We prayed to him to score centuries. He was the god we created, nurtured and kept in our heart for last 24 years.

He was the hope. The hope that our lives will get better with him, that India, Indian sport will get better with him. Hope that if we work as hard as he does we will probably bring same pride that he brought to the nation. The hope that if we love our job as much as he did, we will also become the masters. Hope that lived in our heart that anything is possible even the 100 of 100s.

He was the pride. When most of the countries with population one hundredth of ours boasted about the achievements of their sport stars, the nation as big as ours did not have an answer. But when he came along we told the world we now have someone who is the best in the world. We have Sachin. He carried this burden of Indian sport on his shoulders from the age of 16.

He was the family. He has been part of our home since last 24 years. We lived with him, we celebrated landmarks with him, we criticised failures with him. When he played cricket on Diwali we also stopped celebrating and watched cricket along with him. When he moaned with pain in tennis elbow we also felt that pain in our heart. When he lifted the world cup it was our dream which came true. If a son had just failed an exam, his father would scold him but there would be some satisfaction in his mind that Sachin scored a century today, because he was his second son which made him proud today. He was that son, brother, cousin to each one of us who made our chest one inch bigger each time he performed.

Sachin – you will be in our hearts forever. We promise that we will continue to love the game as much as you did