Sachin's Anjali

Behind every successful man there is a woman…. Seems it is true atleast in Sachin Tendulkar’s case.

Anjali Tendulkar- is India’s favourite Bhabhi. I have not seen a single person who has a negative comment to make about Sachin’s wife. She is pleasant looking, ever smiling (We saw her crying in Sachin’s farewell test), discreet and admirably low key. She has hardly spoken in media during their long marriage. We saw glimpses of her driving their kids to school or picking up Sachin at the airport. Not one for partying, Anjali managed to stay out of hectic social scene, without offending anybody. At a time when celeb couples are busy cashing in on their colossal brand value and shooting together for multi-crore commercials (Saif-Kareena,ShahRukh-Gauri, Abhishek-Aishwarya, Amitabh-Jaya), can you imagine how much money the Tendulkars could have earned had they endorsed some product together? We don’t know, it may happen in future, but it is a wonder it hasn’t in the past.

Anjali definitely falls into the ‘neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride’ category. Somewhere, at the backs of our minds, we secretly admire an Anjali for all the qualities that are fast disappearing in our cities. Anjali gave up a career (she’s a doctor) to raise a family. She chose to become a full time homemaker when her generation of educated women world over was forging ahead aggressively. She stayed out of the limelight when other wives/ girlfriends (Sakshi Dhoni, Geeta Basra, Sangeeta Bijlani) of star sportsmen were busy flaunting their privileged status. She has always dressed in sensible as opposed to super glam couture clothes. She has resisted walking the ramp for any high profile charity, though she quietly supports quite a few. She has lived the role of a modern day pativrata – silent, loyal, caring. The Perfect Wife, who has understood her position in marriage and placed her own personal priorities on a backside. No ego. No conflict.

Even Michelle Obama (Barak Obama's wife) play up to the media while pushing her image as a fashion icon. Being an intelligent, educated, smart wife of the ‘most powerful man on earth’, is a tough call for any woman. Similarly, for Anjali, being the wife of one of the biggest sports icons in the world, is an equally daunting job – what with more than a billion people tracking each move and word. So far, Anjali has not missed a single step. Being Sachin’s wife can’t be easy. For most of their married life, the cricketer has been missing in action. No matter how wonderful a dad/husband he may be, the fact is, he can’t be around like a regular family man who holds down a 9-5 job. Anjali has never complained (I guess..)… at least, not in public.

Her son Arjun plays cricket, daughter Sara watches cricket, she herself lives cricket, while husband Sachin breathes cricket. Waah! Family ho to aisi. Sachin is one of the blessed guy. He, more than any other icon – from Bollywood stars, sports personalities, politicians, seems to have it all. And a lot of that ‘all’ rests in Anjali............................. & she is swiftly gathering fan following of her own after Sachin’s 200th test at Wankhede, Mumbai.

Onkar Ambavane