Tibetan lamas moved by Sachin Tendulkar's departure

DHARAMSHALA: Tibetans living in exile in India, having made the country their second home, also seem to have adopted its love for cricket and also its cricketing heroes. So as cricket lovers all over India are frenzied over Sachin Tendulkar playing his last Test match, the land of the lamas too could not have escaped the moment. A group of monks, mostly grandchildren of Tibetan refugees, felt saddened after Sachin was dismissed for 74 runs in the first innings of his 200th Test on Friday.
"We are already disappointed that the Indian god of cricket is going to retire, and after he lost his wicket in Wankhede Stadium at 74 it left us pain-stricken because we were waiting for him to score his last century," said Kungam Tsering, a monk living in a monastery on the outskirts of Dharamshala. Tibetans here also believe the Little Master is retiring a bit early.
A group of the Tibetan monks also paid their tribute to the master blaster by playing a cricket match wearing posters of their cricketing idol. 'We live in India, we love India and also people who contribute to the nation (Master Sachin Tendulkar)," read their posters.
Some Tibetans have taken leave from their offices to watch the last match of Sachin Tendulkar. "I had applied for leave to watch the last tie of my cricket hero (Tendulkar) as I am a great fan of his," said Tenzin Sonam, who works with a local Tibetan restaurant.
National director of Students of Free Tibet Association, Dorjee Tseten said, "Though I don't know much about cricket, I still love Sachin Tendulkar and my whole staff is crazy about him."
Tibetans are also hopeful that their hero will visit their town again after having been bowled over by the beauty of the place when he played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA) stadium in Dharamshala. HPCA president Anurag Thakur had told media that Tendulkar was so mesmerized by the natural beauty that soon after his arrival at the hotel the champion batsman immediately rang up his wife to describe the landscape.