It's reported that Sachin Tendulkar spent a quiet day mostly indoors, rather than publicly celebrate his 38th birthday, out of respect for the guru Sathya Sai Baba who died at the age of 85 yesterday.
Yet the Mumbai Indians captain went to work as usual, in a match against Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League at Rajiv Gandhi cricket stadium, Hyderabad.
He is said to have remained inside his hotel room throughout the day to watch television coverage of mourners honouring the guru at the ashram in Puttaparthi.
Then in the evening he led his team to victory, but was not in top form, getting out for 28 runs.
Plans that had been underway to celebrate his birthday - the first since India's World Cup win - were cancelled by management of the Mumbai Indians and officials of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA).
Sai Baba declared himself an “avatar,” in 1940 at the age of 14, claiming to be a reincarnation of another Hindu holy man, Sai Baba in Shirdi, who died in 1918. Shirdi is a town in western Maharashtra state.
The coincidence of the guru dying on Sachin's birthday will hold great significance for many devout followers of the guru, who was worshipped by millions of bhakti worshippers around the world. They disregarded controversy over allegations of fraudulence that tinged Sai Baba's proven reputation for charity and generosity in donating food, clean water and hospital & medical services to the poor.
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