Coming soon: Sachin and Anjali Tendulkar's silver wedding!

Landmarks and Sachin Tendulkar are like butter and toast And theres another one coming up mdash on May 25 mdash when Sachin and Anjali complete 25 years of marriageA quartercentury ago the buildup to the big day in Mumbai was exciting A close associate of Sachin was even offered money to provide a blowbyblow account of the wedding ceremony and the receptions one for the cricket fraternity at Jade Garden Worli and another for relatives neighbours and friends at SunnSand hotel for a Kolkata publication Of course the offer was promptly turned downA midday report said that there was a fair bit of mail reaching the Sahitya Sahawas colony at Bandra East asking for invitations Also that Sachins attire for the wedding ceremony was being tailored at a Hill Road boutique called Anja San owned by Asha BhosleSachin and Anjali Tendulkar on their wedding day in 1995 Picmidday archivesAs expected the photographers had a field day on May 25 and Ashish Raje a midday staffer then remembers making a morning dash to Tendulkars Bandra East dwelling to capture the tobegroom He got a picture of Tendulkar clearing the front seat of his car and then heading to Jewel of India Worli where the wedding ceremony was to be heldPost the nuptials the bride and groom posed for a battery of photographers under the summer sun on the Jewel of India lawns And newspaper editors wanted photographs of the following days reception to be attended by the whos who of Indian cricket But that was not to be All they could manage was guests streaming in mdash the light not half as good as the red carpet events of todayTendulkar invited a handful of journalists We thought hard before deciding on our gift for the couple I was clear that I had to buy something that would be enduringly useful From a gift shop specialising in marble products at Dadar I opted for a small Ganesh idolI entered Jade Garden to be greeted by the late Hemant Waingankar a dear friend of Sunil Gavaskar and a fatherlike guide to Sachin When Hemant was around his trusted lieutenant Anil Joshi couldnt be far away and there was Anil besides Mr and Mrs Tendulkar on stageIt was Waingankar who informed Gavaskar that the young Sachin had missed out on the Bombay Cricket Associations Best Junior Cricketer of the Year 198687 It moved Gavaskar to pen a letter to Tendulkar written on the bonnet of a car as Gavaskar waited to board a Londonbound flight to participate in the MCC Bicentenary Test at Lords citing his own example of missing out on that Mumbai cricket honour The written communication went on to become a significant part of the Tendulkar success storyWe journalists kept to ourselves at one end of the terraced Jade Garden and watched celebrity after celebrity walk up on the simple stage to greet the couple Among them were the Sportsfield building gang which included Ajit Wadekar Gavaskar Dilip Vengsarkar Ravi Shastri Polly Umrigar and GS Ramchand mdash apart from Kapil Dev and Maharashtra chief minister Manohar JoshiThe Tendulkar family did not miss out on inviting anyone who had played a role in their sons stupendous journey Even those who played a few Ranji Trophy games with him were called Also the coaches of the Mumbai age group teams he played for including Hemu Dalvi who managedcoached the under17 squad in 1987 Former Mumbai batsman Sanjay Jaywant who played club cricket with Tendulkars elder brother Ajit at Jolly Cricketers was there too The most memorable part of the evening for Jaywant was reuniting with actor Nana Patekar whom he hadnt met since his college days Nana gave me a hug and my friends were quick to inform me recently that I am seen with him in the film Sachin mdash A Billion Dreams Jaywant told me on TuesdayI spotted Behram Contractor the editor of the Afternoon Despatch amp Courier making mental notes as it were for his Round amp About back page column As expected Busybee came up with a fine piece a few days later mdash his third on the event If Wills were to revive its Made for Each Other contest the couple would win it hands down The bride and groom I thought complemented each other in looks youth dedication to their respective callings the desire to keep their marriage and the ceremonies thereafter as lowkey and private as possible he wroteIt was a grand wedding reception but there were no excesses for it to even border on over the top Sachins father Ramesh was as welcoming and pleasant as he was when I landed up at Sahitya Sahwas for the first time in 1990 Tendulkar Sr was a busy man at Jade Garden but he made it a point to ask each of his guests whether they were being well looked afterMeanwhile the photographers were still at ground level I remember Ajit inviting them to eat their dinner but clicking photographs of the reception was a clear nono The evening of May 26 1995 was not just a wedding reception of a special cricketer It was a celebration of cricket mdash big names small names and most of all good valuesIts a pity that the silver wedding of Sachin and Anjali will be a lowkey affair due to the Coronavirus lockdown But their partnership is a celebration in itself While we renew our wishes made 25 Mays ago we cant help hope for another landmark And let not the COVID19 pandemic stop us from raising a toast to themmiddays group sports editor Clayton Murzello is a purist with an open stance He tweets ClaytonMurzelloSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individuals and dont represent those of the paperCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news