Sachin Biggest Fan – A decade of service: Sachin Tendulkar’s biggest fan talks about the void left by his retirement. Next week will mark exactly a decade since Sachin Tendulkar gave Indian cricket its biggest and most loyal fan base. Sudhir Gautam, who wrote ‘Tendulkar 10’ on his bare chest, now writes ‘Missing you Tendulkar 10’ as he prepares to say goodbye to his God next month. In a casual chat with Derek Abraham at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Gautam talks about his devotion to Sachin and the emptiness at the prospect of his retirement.
We’ve all seen it: the Ashok Chakra drawn on the nose over a thick coat of white paint, saffron on the forehead and green on the chin; A bald head with a piece of hair in the shape of a tricolor map of India. Sudhir Gautam is the man seen tirelessly waving the Indian flag during every cricket match that India plays at home.
Sachin Biggest Fan
Gautam, 33, was shocked when a friend told him that the master blaster was finished.
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“I was in Rajot for a 20 game and I couldn’t believe my ears. I thought it was a joke,” he said during the ODI in Jaipur on October 16, where he continued to bowl and wave the Indian flag for each of the 39 boundaries and 11 sixes that the young Indian top-order smashed on the cruise to a historic victory. While Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli ensured that fans did not miss the legendary trio of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, Gautam’s wiry frame painted with ‘Miss U Tendulkar 10’ ensured that nobody Forget the master.
So you prefixed ‘Miss-U’ to your painted body for Tendulkar 10… I always did that when Sachin sir was not playing. But after the 200 Test (when Sachin Tendulkar retires) it will read like this.
When did you first meet Tendulkar? It was on October 28, 2003 in Mumbai. He is leaving Trident Hotel at Nariman Point with Anjali Bhabhi. I ran to him and touched his feet. Then he invited me home. The next morning I went to La Mer in Bandra (the Tendulkars lived in this building before they moved to the sprawling Perry Cross Road bungalow that is so much talked about) with a bouquet. India was playing Australia at Wankhede Stadium on November 1 and this gentleman gave me the game card. He gave me game passes for years. But recently it is Mane Kaka (Ramesh Mane, masseur of the Indian team) who makes sure I am in the stadium.
So you have been watching a lot of Indian matches? I watched 40 Tests, 206 ODIs, 18 T20 Internationals and 53 IPL/Champions League T20 matches.
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When did you decide to take the courage to participate in All India matches? I have always been a big fan of Sachin sir. I played at the collegiate level but was never selected for a major tournament. So I dropped all that and cycled from Bihar to Mumbai to meet Sachin sir.
Do you remember watching the first game? India lost to Australia on this day (November 1, 2003. TVS Cup 4 match played at Wankhede Stadium). It was a tri-series (ODI). We then lost to New Zealand in Cuttack on November 6 (New Zealand won by 4 wickets), lost again to Australia in Bangalore on November 12 (Australia won by 61 runs) before beating New Zealand in Hyderabad on November 15 (India won by 145 flow). Sachin and Virendra Sehwag opened the Indian innings;
Sachin scored a 91 ball 102 and Sehwag scored a 130). I got into trouble twice during this series. In Cuttack, I ran across the field to touch Mr. Sachin’s feet. He didn’t appreciate it, but he was kind enough to tell the police not to beat me. But I did the same in Hyderabad because he scored a hundred. This time too, the gentleman asked the policemen to release me, but they took me to the Secunderabad police station and beat me badly. I was so badly injured that I could not cycle to Kolkata for the final against Australia on November 18 (which India lost by 37 runs).
People count across the country long and short… to a large extent. I traveled from Bihar to Bangladesh three times. I also went to Pakistan. But today I go by train. It’s faster.
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Your bike trips last for days, sometimes weeks. How do you survive? I have friends in every city. I usually stay with my painter. Some charge me Rs 200 for body paint. But I don’t let anyone take pictures of my face or head. I use water colors. In some cities like Rajot and Chandigarh, painters don’t charge me a penny. I made friends everywhere – even across the border in Dhaka, Chittagong, Sialkot, Lahore, Karachi. Even the Barmy Army (a group of English cricket fans who accompany the team on tours) know me. In Pakistan I stayed with ‘Pakistan Chacha’ (Chaudhry Abdul Jalil, a supporter of the Pakistan team who is sponsored by the Pakistan Cricket Board to travel with the team).
They say that you rarely buy a ticket… Once upon a time it was like that. I used to get a platform ticket and fall asleep on the train. When the ticket inspector came for a tour, I showed him pictures of me with the players and he let me go. Ever since Sachin gave me permission to lift the World Cup on April 2, 2011, I have changed. I can’t shame him for breaking the law. He took me to the dressing room and we posed together with Cap.
How is your relationship with the other players? Everyone cares about me. Bhajji, Dhoni, Raina – everyone is ready to help. But I don’t take money from anyone. A few months ago, I took lychees to Dhoni’s home in Ranchi. Dhoni was on a break and we were watching the India vs Zimbabwe match. Later he, Sakshi Behavi and I had dinner together.
I then asked Dhoni about his Hellcat (a Confederate X132 Hell Cat muscle bike that reportedly cost Dhoni Rs 60 lakh). He took me to his garage and there were nine awesome bikes. He has seven more at his Vasant Kunj home in Delhi and two in Chennai. Do you know Mr. Sachin took me to the station in his BMW? I can go to his house anytime. I went to see him sometime at 4:30 in the morning. He was kind enough to let me in. Dhoni keeps asking for my bank account number but I refuse to give it to him.
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How do you feel when media and public criticize Tendulkar? When he batted badly in England and Australia, my friends grumbled and teased me. I beat some of them. I have stopped fighting now. I only leave when they say something against Sachin sir.
Do you think you will suffer from an identity crisis after Sachin’s retirement? When people stop watching Tendulkar on TV, how important will his biggest fan be? Jab tak hum ir prithvi par hain, tab tak hum yihi karenge. The boundary, has six aur her vipakshi wicket par shank bajainge. (As long as I am on the ground I will do this. I will blow the conch for every boundary, every six hit by the Indian team and every wicket of the opposition they pick).
What are your pre-match and post-match rituals? You will always find me by the team bus on the eve and day of the game. I welcome them and accompany them. On match days I wave the flag non-stop until the draw. I then take a short break before greeting them on the floor by playing the shell incessantly. I don’t eat on days when India loses.
What are your other interests? I am not interested in anything but cricket. I don’t eat out, shop or go to the movies.
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Ever since I met Sachin sir, I didn’t have to buy clothes. Every Indian actor gives me clothes. Whether it is Test jersey, ODI jersey or training wear, I have a wardrobe full of clothes. But I try not to wear the ones with the actor’s name on the back. People make fun of me if I do that.
What do you do in the off-season when the Indian team is not playing? I do odd jobs. I get work at student festivals or work at stadiums. The cricketing fraternity helps me. I know many people. One or the other gives me work. I earn around Rs 200 per day and save most of the money. How else would you buy train tickets and food when the season starts? A senior journalist in Delhi is writing a book on me and says that the railways will give me a pass for the whole of India when the book is published. I don’t
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