How did Sachin Tendulkar manage being God for so long?

Just imagine how a doctor would feel if each and every surgery he performs is scrutinized and criticized by over a billion people. Imagine how a student would feel if every word he writes in an examination is analysed and interpreted by over a billion people. Imagine how a lawyer would feel if every word he speaks in the court is scrutinised day in and day out on prime time news.

Wouldn’t they get frustrated? Irritated?

The doctor would probably come out and tell the people, “Hey! Do you even understand what it takes to be a doctor? Do you even know anything about this profession?"

Now just imagine being Sachin Tendulkar. Oh my God! People who have played just a handful of matches for their countries, calling themselves "experts", comment about him.

If he scored a hundred, they said that he played for records. If he didn’t, they found flaws in his technique.

And what about his fans? Every time Tendulkar came out to bat, he was supposed to score a hundred. If he scored 98, his fans said that he failed! They concentrated more on the 2 runs he missed rather than the 98 scored.

And is it a blessing to be called the “God of cricket”? Today, people question everything, even God Himself.

“Ganesha, you know something. I have come here to let you know that I want you to fulfill my wish of getting 90% in my board exams.”

"See Krishna, I want a 15% raise in my salary next year.”

And if their wishes don’t materialize, they blame ‘God’ for that, very conveniently ignoring the fact that they did not put any effort to achieve their ambitions.

In a country where there are already multitudes of religions, cultures and “Gods”, people still go ahead and choose a human being and elevate him to the status of God!. And once you are God, people want so many wishes of theirs to be fulfilled. Remember, you are worshiped only as long as you deliver!

Tendulkar lived in an absolutely crazy world. Do you remember the period between 2011 and 2013? People kept asking him the same questions - Sir, isn’t it time for you to walk into the sunset? How long will you keep playing? You have achieved everything a cricketer can achieve; are you playing for milestones?

Did Tendulkar get angry? No, he remained as calm as ever. And he put a smile on his face every time while answering the same mundane questions again and again. How did he manage to do it?

And do you remember the period between his 99th and 100th centuries? Tendulkar had scores of 94, 91, 81, 80, 76 and 73 during this period. But every time he did not get to the three figure mark, they claimed - Sachin fails!

People were even counting his scores backward from hundred. Has that ever happened to any other cricketer?

There is this perception that being Sachin is wonderful, being Sachin is easy. After all, he has money, fame, adulation of millions, respect, recognition etc.

But dig deeper, and go to the mental aspect. The pressure of a billion people on his shoulders, the media waiting for a chance to catch him off guard, arm chair experts conveniently passing comments on him without even understanding what is going in his mind, his performance being discussed on prime time TV. How will you feel if all this happened to you day in and day out?

That is why, if someone asks me “Do you want to be Sachin Tendulkar?” I would tell them: “No thanks, I am happy being myself.”

And when I sit back and ponder, there is only one question in my mind: Oh my God, how did Sachin manage being ‘GOD’ for such a long time?