Brave lady catches thief: Sachin recalls how his mother chased a thief in Mumbai's Santacruz

Sachin Tendulkar, file photo.

Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has learned "grit" from his mother. Sachin said that his mother is mentally very, very strong and hardworking.

Oh his birthday 50^th birthday today on April 24, Tendulkar spoke about various facets of life in an exclusive interview with Mid-day.

Sharing one of the incidents of his mother who worked for LIC [Life Insurance Corporation] in Santacruz, Sachin said that one evening while she was returning from work, a man stole her purse and jumped into a bus thinking that my mother wouldn't chase him. "But she followed him all the way and got her purse back. There was a write-up published in a newspaper on this incident - brave lady catches thief."

Speaking further about his mother, he said she has faced a lot of physical challenges - back, knee [problems] and found solutions. She has found her own lifestyle; she never sulks. There is always a smile on her face.

"A number of things that I sometimes say, including rehne dete hain isko [let this be], [she would say] no, we never did this. So it's also a reminder to me, the kids, and everyone at home that this is how it should be [to act on things.]"

Also read: Sachin Tendulkar: One of the important gifts I received in life was a ‘Kashmir willow' bat

Speaking about his interests in Cricket the legend said that the first proper bat that he used to play cricket with was a Kashmir willow.

Recalling about birthday gifts that he received in his childhood, Sachin said that his sister had gone (Savita) to Kashmir and brought back a Kashmir willow bat for him. That was the first proper bat I had, he said. "It was one of the important gifts I received in my life."

The legend said that he did not really find birthdays exciting. "There were no big celebrations. Normal cake cutting would happen; no big parties, only limited friends were called. And when I started playing cricket, hardly anything [happened] actually. I didn't miss it because it never happened. I don't remember having a proper party in my school days."

On Saturday, Sachin celebrated his 50th birthday two days early during a clash between Mumbai Indians and Punjab Kings at his home ground Wankhede Stadium. Tendulkar, who had said that reaching 50 was his 'slowest half-century', cut a cake near the Mumbai Indians' dugout during the second strategic break in the first innings.

The Mumbai Indians franchise, for whom Tendulkar played for all his six years in the IPL from 2008-2013, had special arrangements in place to celebrate the occasion. More than 30,000 fans at the Wankhede Stadium were provided with Tendulkar face masks.