Fans want their idols to live long. M.L. Rajesh — who idolises Sachin Tendulkar — has turned this wish of his into a work of art. He has collected 100 ten-rupee currency notes with serial numbers that trace Sachin's birthday over 100 years. The wad of notes, starting with serial number 240473 (denoting 24-04-1973) and ending with 240472 (24-04-2072), has been mounted in vertical order on a board and is surrounded by images of the cricket icon over the years, including the famous black-and-white photo of a long-haired baby Sachin wielding a bat. The display piece, over four feet long and one-and-a-half feet wide, is neatly framed.
A more painstaking work is a colourful dossier of Sachin's 99 centuries (51 in Test and 48 in ODI cricket). Here again, the most attractive feature is a collection of ten-rupee notes with serial numbers that match the dates these centuries were scored on.
Taking the guise of a foreword, the first page in the dossier brings alive the batsman's Test debut with pictures, details and a currency note that matches the date. In the laminated pages that follow, Sachin's hundreds are illustrated in similar fashion. The dossier ends with an empty page. “When Sachin scores his 100th hundred, the page will come to life and the book will be completed,” says 31-year-old Rajesh, who took great pains over the last one year to collect these currency notes. (As a stamp, coin and currency collector, Rajesh made use of his contacts around the country to prepare the dossier).
Recently, Rajesh tried in vain to contact Sachin, when the batsman was at Chepauk on May 27 for the 2nd IPL 2011 qualifier match to show these masterpieces.
Earlier, during the course of IPL 2010, Rajesh had approached Sachin for his signature on a ten-rupee currency note. “Explaining that he did not like signing on a currency note, Sachin turned down my request. When I explained that the currency note's serial number matched his birth date, he was surprised. With the curiosity of a little boy, he asked me many questions. I gave him a copy of the currency note,” recalls Rajesh, who opens the batting for the local team of Hindustan Petroleum (New Gummidipoondi-Chennai). Rajesh has patternedhis batting skills on Sachin's.
Rajesh has also collected other currencies — some of high denomination — that reflect the important dates in the master-blaster's life (such as his wedding anniversary, wife's and daughter's birthdates).
Says Chandra Kumar Chopda, Rajesh's friend and owner of The Pavilion, a showroom for sports equipment: “When it comes to expressing his admiration for Sachin, no effort is too big for Rajesh.”
