A Tale of two Legends! - Sachin and Zakir

 Your life is not the same when you encounter certain people! There are a lot of people who make you happy, but there is a certain 'lot' that flourish your life. For this lot, happiness is the starting phase of their influence on you. This phase then switches over to a 'following'. Following results in  attempting 'duplication'. And when all these stages are crossed, we enter a stage where we realize that our life is flourished! Our life is nothing without their presence. This presence remains while we walk on the road, wash our clothes, take a bath, have our breakfast, talk with a friend or even when we are fast asleep! People who make you 'happy', do not have this lasting influence and hence they are 'humans' and remain humans! Whereas the latter category of people become 'legends' or superhumans!
Two such individuals come to my mind at the very first instance when I talk about this influence! They are Sachin Tendulkar and Zakir Hussain. They do not represent the same field, neither they represent the same age group! The former is now a 'senior citizen' in his own field, where as the latter is actually a 'senior citizen!' (at least in theory I have to say this!). Yet, their consistency in their respective field has been a journey which their followers will love to cherish! However, the 'relater of unrelated happenings' in me forces me to compare their journey to the top! And when I actually see the journey, I see a stark resemblance in their lives! 

Critics will find this an unnecessary piece of writing and would go to the extent of accusing me of an extreme hero worship! But the sole aim through this piece of blog is to get inspired and inspire people in their respective fields! And especially for people who ( that might include me at times too) feel 'drenched' by little drops of success!

 1. Both these performers inherited their behavior from the fathers. Sachin's father, Ramesh was a litterateur in Marathi, whereas Zakir's  father, Ustad Allar rakha was a Tabla maestro himself! It is quite evident from their present day behavior that the kind of 'simplicity', 'devotion to their field', 'passion to perform' and most importantly a 'down-to-earth' attitude is a pedigree for them! 

 

 2. They were child prodigies! Sachin started his career in school, with a record partnership of 700-odd runs with Vinod Kambli and was a topic of conversation in Mumbai cricket circles. Zakir, on the other hand was already performing from a very young age. He performed at the Sawai Gandharva Music festival, Pune at the age of 5 and went on to accompany his father on the latter's concert tours. He was a topic of conversation among the music circles in Mumbai.

 3. Both were talented, yet they did not skip their work ethics from the time they were young! Sachin, as a 14 year old played 55 games at a stretch without a break. This lasted for 55 days, with one game/ day! But without a break for a 14 year old! His schedule was to practice for two hours, play a game, practice for two hours and fall asleep on the dining table! (source: Harsha Bhogle: talent v/s attitude  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obmHUq4F-gs). Zakir, on the other hand did nothing different. His schedule was to get up at around 2 in the morning and practice for hours with his father. 

Then attend the morning school. After school, again practice! His practice would continue for 18-20 hours a day in his amateur days!

4. At the age of 14, Sachin was the youngest cricketer to score a hundred in a Ranji trophy match against Gujarat. He then went on to score a hundred in his debut matches in the Deodhar trophy and Duleep trophy matches. Gavaskar noticed him when he tackled Kapil Dev in the nets. Zakir also has a similar story to tell. In his early teens, he was performing solo Tabla concerts. He also had the opportunity to accompany the likes of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ravi Shankar, Ali Akbar Khan, Bhimsen Joshi and such legends. He was the favorite of all these legends!

5. Sachin served as a 'ball boy' in certain matches that were played on Mumbai grounds those days, most notably the ones in the 1987 World Cup. Zakir also served as a 'helper' to Ustad Thirakwa in his early days. He used to bring the 'tabla powder', arrange for snacks and tea for the senior artists. This was their ground level training, resulting in them becoming humble individuals later!

6. Sachin made his debut at the age of 16 against Pakistan in Pakistan. He had to face the challenging task of tackling the all time great fast bowlers of Pakistan. This was his first overseas performance. Zakir on the other hand, visited the United States of America at the age of 19 for his first overseas performance. His task of 'tackling' the all time great musicians, 'Ravi Shankar' and 'Ali Akbar Khan' was indeed commendable. 

               And then started the consistency phase. The child prodigy phase was all gone. They had become mature adults, albeit very early as compared to a normal college going guy's maturity. But this phase of their life is what became inspiring for all of us! 

Both of them had started with the 'classical form' of their field. I do not wish to claim the superiority of this form. But this form is the basic of a concerned field. Because whatever field you take, its 'original form' is the base! Zakir had 'classical music' as his base whereas Sachin had 'test cricket' as his base. And if your base is stronger, you are bound to succeed in other forms that are derived from the base. 

If you take, classical music for example, you have artists like Bhimsen Joshi, Kumar Gandharva, Kishori Amonkar, Vasatrao Deshpande who were 'classical artists'. But because of their extreme command on this form, they excelled in 'light music' like abhang, thumri, bhavgeet, film songs and so on. That they kept their classical field loyal is a different issue. I would also state that Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle also had this base and hence they consistently performed in Bollywood for decades. Going by the same analogy, if a cricketer is having a strong base of test match cricket (classical music), he is sure to excel in the lighter form of the sport, that is ODIs.( read bhavgeet, thumri,filmi songs etc). They can even excel in t20 cricket, which could be said equivalent to pop music. Going by this theory, all the legendary cricketers in India - Sachin, Rahul and Saurav - have excelled in these forms! This is going with the 'base theory' explained above!

So, this was the strong base built by these two legends for themselves. Rest was all consistency through passion! And yes, this passion has what made them last supreme in their fields for so long! More than 22 years in a sport like cricket requires extreme passion in the same way as more than 40 years in music. A cricket field has the same bat and ball to work with in a same format that appears static at the periphery but is equally dynamic within! A classical music concert is no different! You have the same set of 'bols' (language of Tabla) and you have to play them in a same format. But this static format of Tabla playing is bubbling with dynamism from within! You require a fresh thought every moment when you enter the cricket field as well as a concert auditorium!
Yet with an average almost 24 concerts a month in various countries and with almost 10 days of cricket a month in different cities, these geniuses have proved that passion transcends age!  

But I believe that the greatest strength of these two maestros is their ability to adjust their performance throughout their careers! Passion is coupled with a continuous thought process of adjusting and adapting to the different circumstances.

Classical Music has undergone a sea change from the time Zakir played his debut concert to what it is now. Tabla players were sort of second class citizens when his father played the Tabla. He himself says in one of the interviews that when the main artist was given airplane tickets, the Tabla players were given second class train tickets to reach the concert venue. In such a time, it was Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan who ensured that the Tabla player also got the due importance. Some of the Tabla players, like Zakir's father Alla Rakha made the instrument even more popular in that period. But is was Zakir who created a revolution in the field! He developed new sounds on the instrument, created magic through the base drum (bayan), made the train to run on the tabla, displayed a canon-fire on the instrument - all this while maintaining clarity and complexity! From vocalists to instrumentalists and even dancers, he ensured that his Tabla complemented their moves. And by ensuring that the ' basic technique' in a Tabla recital is not changed, he made the instrument reach the western and non-classical Indian audiences. How did he do that? He applied the sound of the Tabla through bands like 'shakti', 'remember shakti', 'global drum project', 'planet drum'. By collaborations with Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer, he made sure that the tabla became an important solo instrument in the west. And no doubt, he is the most widely known Indian musician in America after Ravi Shankar and Tabla stands on a prestigious stage on the western stage after the Sitar! But after achieving awe-inspiring success in the non-classical stream ( through those bands and accompaniments), he still continues to rule in the 'classical stream' and enjoys the same repute among the learned Tabla connoisseurs. 

On the other hand, if you see Sachin's career graph, there too has been a sea change in the way cricket was played when he made his debut to how it is played now! Before he started playing, Indian cricketers were used to the defensive form of the game. It was Sunil Gavaskar who made the first change in the way the game was played. While he continued the defensive mode, but at the same time ensured that his wicket was not lost in this defense! But it was Sachin who actually created a revolution in batting. He brought  a much needed aggression in the game - by coming down the track for the spin bowlers, by hitting over the fast bowler's head, by those aggressive hooks and pulls - all this while maintaining the technique of the game intact. By his innovations in the strokeplay he made sure that he adjusted to the ODI format and plundered a lot of runs in the same. By doing that, he made sure that cricket was enjoyed by a 'test match loving cricket pundit' to a ' strokeplay-crazy chaiwalah!' His perfect technique and adaptation is the result we have seen a double hundred from him in ODIs at the age of 37 and a hundred in the t20 format at the age of 38! But even after enjoying success in the 'non-classical' version of the game, his standing at the very top in the 'classical test match' format speaks volume of his technique!

Such is the adaption of these two legends to their 'ever-changing' fields that even after all these years, they continue to remain a top choice for all their fans. There have been many Tabla players after Zakir, but in no way has Zakir gone into an oblivion Same is the case with Sachin. One wonders at the amazing display of energy when they 'perform' - energy which transcends age! It has been my great pleasure to see Zakir perform. Same has not been the case with Sachin's bat....hoping to see that soon! 
And over the years, after all these achievements, there has been no bad word heard from any of the maestro's mouth about anybody. There is hardly any open criticism from them about anybody. Instead, both have encouraged amateurs in their respective fields. Many amateur Tabla players have enriched their lives by performing with Zakir or in front of Zakir. Similarly, many amateur cricketers have found themselves flourishing under Sachin, be it through playing alongside him or watching him play! And there are people like me who have felt the same when they have watched these 'creations' perform! Yes, they do not 'play'.....their playing has reached a stage of 'creation!' Creation of an artistic craftsmanship through the extensions of their hands ( Tabla and the cricket bat!). Creation of an art, which makes us feel that there can be nothing beyond this - this is perfection! Thank you for flourishing my life and making me feel that life would be always incomplete till I achieve that 'degree' of perfection in anything I do!

I do not know if Sachin appreciates Tabla to that extent as Zakir appreciates cricket! For Zakir has said about Sachin - "Sachin is the Ustad of cricket."