Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar marked Teachers' Day by paying tribute to his late father, Ramesh Tendulkar, whom he described as a writer, poet and professor, and announced the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship to support young doctors specialising in cleft and craniofacial care.
In a social media post on X, Tendulkar said:
"My father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a writer, poet, and a professor, but more a mentor, a guide to many, including me. He gave me the freedom to pursue cricket while reminding me that success should never come at the cost of character."
When I think about the people who shaped my journey, I do not begin with a cricket ground or a coach. I begin at home.
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 5, 2026
Long before anyone outside my family knew my name, my father had begun to recognise my love for cricket and, perhaps more importantly, understand what it meant… pic.twitter.com/AfBH6QOolX
'Failure Is Okay, But Cheating Is Not'
Tendulkar said that his journey did not start on a cricket ground or with a coach, but at home with his father, who first recognised his passion for cricket and gave him the freedom to pursue it. He recalled his father's core advice: "Failure is okay, but cheating is not. Never take shortcuts."
This 'Is What Great Teacher Or Mentor Does'
Highlighting what a great teacher or mentor does, Tendulkar asserted that they recognise a possibility in you before you can recognise it yourself.
"India has no shortage of young talent. Whether a child picks up a bat, a ball, a book or discovers an ability in some other field, it makes them unique in their own way," he said.
"What they often lack is not talent, but access to people who can recognise that talent and help nurture it," he added.
Fellowship Details
Launching the fellowship programme, he noted that the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship, in partnership with Inga Health Foundation, will give financial support to one MD (Doctor of Medicine) each year.
Introducing the fellowship, Tendulkar mentioned that it is a year-long opportunity to specialise in cleft and craniofacial care in Srinagar. On completing the programme, the fellow will receive a certificate from the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation, recognising the excellence.
"This is part of our long-standing commitment to support healthcare professionals in critical care and also encourage the young doctors in their field of study," he said.
Tendulkar further said: "My father spent his life as an educator, and I think his greatest lesson to me was the importance of giving someone the confidence and opportunity to find their own potential." "This Teachers' Day, we take the opportunity to honour the first person who saw something in me and believed in what I could become," he added.
