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I have always wondered if there is one thing that unites India. Only cricket comes to mind. Even with cricket, Sachin is probably the only one individual that always had Indians praying to their Gods for his success. It's as if Indians would gain something with his success. Everyone felt the pride. Even within the game Sachin, with his unbelievable sucess and fame has always stayed away from controversy. He went through the worst period of Indian cricket in terms of match fixing and came completely clean. Based on all his interview, public dealings he always appears humble. Even on his insta channel he always appears authentic. I once saw Aamir khan visit Tamil Nadu and nobody recognised him. But with Sachin, everyone across the country is mesmerized by him.

Abdul Kalam is another name that comes to mind who has garnered similar respect across the country and inspired young children, adults. His achievements are not only pride of India, his behavior was always exemplary. His humbleness was contagious.

Ratan Tata is another name who similarly took India to new heights in the field of business. His launch of Nano was a genuine effort to bring cars to masses.

I was at a bar in Hyderabad last Sunday and they were playing Sharjah Cup 98 tournament highlights on a big screen. All the patrons in their mid-30s or early 40s were equally exhilarated as if they were watching it live for the first time and every one had their story to tell about what they were doing at that time (some skipped school faking illness, some snuck out of the school to keep track of the score). My own story - Our school principal, who was notorious for being a stickler for rules (you know the kind) let us go home an hour early when he found out that Sachin was at the crease.

Tony Greg once compared the euphoria experienced by Indians watching Sachin play in the late 90s to people of his generation in the west experiencing The Beatles in the 60s. I think that still undersells it.

nodegree wrote: ↑Sat Feb 15, 2025 10:43 pm Tony Greg once compared the euphoria experienced by Indians watching Sachin play in the late 90s to people of his generation in the west experiencing The Beatles in the 60s. I think that still undersells it.

I lost interest in Cricket post Sachin’s retirement. Then tried to watch again in last World Cup, however except Rohit Sharma cnoticed that elegance in batting is no where to be found( especially likes of Hardik Pandya, Jadeja ruined it )

Used to be a die-hard fan of Sachin like getting up at the middle of the night to find out how much he had scored- not anymore due to his obsession with making records/centuries and my now defunct obsession with the same! MSD, Kapil, Kohli, Sehwag, Ashwin are higher on my list, for putting team over personal records!

I would add a few to the list of names that unite India in no particular order- Sardar Patel, Netaji Bose, Nehru, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohd Rafi, Kishore Kumar, SPB, Amitabh Bachchan, MSD, Kapil Dev, Tagore, Chatrapati Shivaji, Jhansi Rani, Ambedkar, Ravi Shankar, R K Narayan, Raj Kapoor, AR Rahman, Homi Bhabha, Vishwanathan Anand, Milkha Singh, PT Usha and so on.

Obviously, not everyone in India would recognize these names, but an overwhelming majority of those that recognize them would have a positive opinion of them.

SAPPORO wrote: ↑Tue Feb 18, 2025 9:26 am Used to be a die-hard fan of Sachin like getting up at the middle of the night to find out how much he had scored- not anymore due to his obsession with making records/centuries and my now defunct obsession with the same! MSD, Kapil, Kohli, Sehwag, Ashwin are higher on my list, for putting team over personal records!

I think the last decade of his career (somewhat post 2003, but certainly after 2009-ish) watching Sachin play was not really enjoyable. I think 90s Sachin was really a different player, nothing like I've ever seen before or even after (Nā Bhōōtho Nā Bhāvishyathi as they say). Due to injuries and age, his batting style definitely changed in the 2000s. Unfortunately there were many great players in that era that got completely foreshadowed by the star power of Sachin.

I want to note Ambani in this list after they have revolutionized mobile data connectivity in India. They brought in low cost plans and gave connectivity to lowest earning member of society. It has totally changed the landscape of the country. I wish I had youtube lectures when I was a child. I could learn things so much better. Wouldn't have to struggle so much.

For anyone sitting in villages can now learn complex physics topics with free lectures and join the race of innovation. AI explosion will only make things better for youth in India by providing them access to knowledge they didn't have before. It's no longer limited to someone who could pay for education in Kota. Data connectivity has equalled the platform to certain extent. I wouldn't be surprised if innovation comes from villages in India. With VC culture picking up, I see youth of rural areas now solving problems of villages.

Ambanis saw this vision when nobody else could. They took a big gamble by investing billions for laying the fiber network across the country. It was a huge risk. I remember when they launched jio, everyone else was calculating RoI and wondering if they would fail big. But instead they not only took big piece of pie, they made the pie bigger. Many many times bigger.

So what is best plan for cellphone and mobile data? I am with Airtel prepaid for the last 10 years paying Rs 2K/year for 2G/month plan. I feel need more mobile data as I listen to Bay Area FM radion station - Breeze 98.1 while driving.

old-spice2 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 20, 2025 1:45 am So what is best plan for cellphone and mobile data? I am with Airtel prepaid for the last 10 years paying Rs 2K/year for 2G/month plan. I feel need more mobile data as I listen to Bay Area FM radion station - Breeze 98.1 while driving.

I switched over to 2GB/day plan with Airtel during my visit which was more than enough and was not that much more expensive than the basic plan.