A CHILDHOOD SPENT IN SACHIN ADULATION

You were sitting on my lap in my study with the front page of the newspaper (The Telegraph) spread out atop the table when you leaned over and with your little index finger pointing close to a photograph of Sachin Tendulkar at the top of the page, clearly and slowly said, "SA--CHIN," with a distinct gap between articulation of the two syllables, separately. It was, indeed, the first proper name you had uttered till then. You were just under two years and a half and, it quite seems, at least several months into subliminal Sachin adulation, for the incident took place, I guess, sometime around August, 1995, and by then you were pretty avid a watcher of Sachin's blistering batsmanship, sitting on your grandfather's lap or beside his chair on the floor. This is as accurate a description as it can be, for I was the sole witness, other than you, of course, to this episode and I vividly remember it all. Even as I write, I can see it all happening, as fresh as it ever was.