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Despite attaining his
iconic status, Sachin's feet are firm on the ground. His simplicity has
perhaps been his greatest virtue.
Tendulkar sponsors 200
underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO
associated with his mother-in-law, Annaben Mehta.
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The cricketer loves the
game of Tennis. Tendulkar's idol is the American Tennis superstar-John
McEnroe. During his young age, he argued and fought for McEnore with his
colony friends who supported Swedish Bjorn Borg.
Sachin sported a
head-band, sweat-band and a tennis racquet showing his staunch loyalty
towards his idol. Even today, he loves to go for Wimbledon matches as an
avid spectator and lover of the game.
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He is always followed by
the cameras and shutterbugs but the Master Blaster prefers to be on the
other side of the camera. His passion for photography comes to the fore in
the moments that he spends with his family - moments that Sachin loves to
capture and treasure for life!
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Sachin's agility is not
restrained just to cricket. He was taught swimming in some half an hour by
Manoj Prabhakar on the 1990 tour to England. The ambidextrous cricketer
also likes to play table-tennis and carries his own racquet on tours. He
is also fond of adventure sports.
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He is the cynosure of all
eyes but the stardom never got to Sachin whose humility is praised by all
and sundry. Despite being a senior, Sachin's camaraderie with the young
members of the team speaks volumes about his down-to-earth
nature.
Far from being intimidated by him, the younger players even
pull his leg on a lot of occasions. "If I crack jokes at someone they too
have a right to crack jokes at me." says Sachin.
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Sachin also admits to have
learnt one of his greatest lessons off-the-pitch from his daughter Sarah.
As Sachin and Anjali were preparing to celebrate Sarah's birthday, she
said that she wanted to have a party at the slums of Govandi and share the
goodies with the children there. The proud father decided to auction a
half-day's coaching camp with the kids on behalf of an NGO. |
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Sachin's greatest hobby,
according to his close friends, is music. He has a vast collection of
western pop and serious music and spends every available leisure hour
listening to his favourite artists. Among his favourite artistes are
Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar.
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The swashbuckling batsman
can toss in his favourite ingredients to cococt a scrumtious meal as well.
Tendulkar can cook baingan bhartha but he likes cooking sea-food
particularly fried fish. Sachin does not shy away from admitting the fact
that he nibbles some of his home cooked delicacies while he is still
preparing them! The Master Blaster sometimes makes tea for guests.
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Of course the living
legend's favourite gadget is an iPod, the first thing that goes into his
bags every time he leaves for a cricket tour. He also carries video camera
and still camera just to be able to preserve all his living moments that
would serve as beautiful memories in the long run. |
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Tendulkar is passionate
about cars. His love of cars began early. There was a drive-in theatre
close to where Sachin lived from where he could see cars of all shapes and
sizes. He absolutely loved the place as it was the only place where a
young Sachin could see a movie yet not get out of the car. |
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A God-fearing man, Sachin
frequents the Siddhivinayak temple to pay his obeisance to the Almighty
whenever he can. On every occasion in Kolkata, Tendulkar has visited
Kalighat a day ahead of his match. Earlier this year, Tendulkar's wish to
pray at the famous Kalighat Kali Temple remained unfulfilled as his car
was mobbed by a huge crowd and was forced to turn back.
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