My dinner date with Sachin

It was the best birthday gift ever. Having dinner with the entire Indian cricket team. Meeting Sachin, Sourav, Viru, Bhajji, Yuvraj and the most handsome of them all, Anil Kumble.

My roommate's daddy used to be a cricket administrator. And when the Mumbai vs Rest of India match was taking place in Chennai, she took me along for the pre-match dinner. Just us two girls, and the boys who had given me, and the rest of India, unadulterated happiness.u00a0

Even though, I was most interested in 'seeing' Kumble and Ganguly, Sachin wasn't far behind on that list. Because I knew that telling someone 'I met Sachin' would draw a lot more "Oh my God, you are so lucky" than 'I met Anil Kumble'.

And so we left for the Residency Hotel. In the dining room, one by one, the cricketers started coming in. But Sachin was the only Man in Blue there. He wore a lovely baby blue knitted V-neck t-shirt. And trousers, of course. I would've mentioned the colour, material and brand if I had taken my eyes off his face.

I was standing next to Sachin Tendulkar. I couldn't believe it. And the best part of it was that he was looking at me too. Looking into my eyes. Sachin is not, by any account, my favourite cricketer. But here was India's hero quiet and unassuming. I can fill up a page writing all the things that I dislike about Sachin, the cricketer. But the argument that always tipped the scales in his favour was that he never lost his way. As Peter Roebuck wrote, "Tendulkar has taught the next generation how to manage the scrutiny and opportunities experienced by those whose gifts take them at a tender age into the world of luxury. Had Tendulkar fallen foul of the crooks, India could hardly have recovered."

Back to dinner. When I was finally introduced to him, my cheeks had started hurting from the perpetual state of grinning. And then he spoke to me. "Namaste." That's all he said. Here I was, expecting him to say the impossible "Hello, how are you?". But he did make up for it when he replied to my "Can I take a picture with you" with "My pleasure". No, Mr Tendulkar, it was entirely my pleasure.