Teachers’ Day: Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his ‘first teacher’ father Ramesh with friendship for young doctors

Sachin Tendulkar honors father Ramesh Tendulkar (Image: @sachin_rt/x) Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar celebrated Teachers’ Day with a heartfelt tribute to his father and early mentor Ramesh Tendulkar while also announcing the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship to support young doctors specializing in cleft and craniofacial care.Tendulkar took to X to reflect on his father’s influence on his life and career, stressing that his journey didn’t start on the cricket field or with a coach, but at home.“When I think about the people who have shaped my journey, I don’t start with the cricket field or the coach. I start at home,” Tendulkar wrote.Ramesh Tendulkar, a writer, poet and professor, played a key role in nurturing his son’s passion for cricket while ensuring that young Sachin understood the importance of character and integrity. Tendulkar recalled some of the lessons his father imparted to him during his childhood, especially the importance of accepting failure while never compromising on integrity.“Failure is okay, but cheating is not. Never take shortcuts,” Tendulkar recalled his father telling him.

“My Father Saw Something More”

Tendulkar said his father never tried to dictate what he should become. Instead, he gave him the freedom and support to discover his own path.“I was just a boy who loved playing cricket. My father saw something more. He didn’t try to decide what I should become. Instead, he gave me the space and support to discover it on my own,” he wrote.This, according to Tendulkar, is the essence of a great teacher or mentor who recognizes potential in someone before he can recognize it himself. He also stressed the importance of giving young people access to mentors, coaches, education and health care, saying that talent alone is not always enough to help someone reach their potential.

Fellowship announced in memory of father

As part of the Teacher’s Day tribute, Tendulkar announced the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship in association with the Inga Health Foundation, a long-time healthcare partner of the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation. Under this scholarship, one MD (Doctor of Medicine) will receive financial support each year for a year-long opportunity to specialize in cleft and craniofacial care in Srinagar.After completing the program, the fellow will receive a certificate from the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation in recognition of their work and excellence.Tendulkar said the initiative reflects the foundation’s wider commitment to supporting health professionals working in critical care while encouraging young doctors to pursue specialist fields of study.

“More Than Community”

For Tendulkar, the initiative is not just about supporting medical education, but about continuing his father’s philosophy.“To me, it’s more than a community. It’s a way to continue something my father deeply believed in — that education creates opportunity, and that opportunity becomes truly meaningful when it’s used to serve others,” he wrote.Tendulkar also spoke about the work he and his wife Anjali have done through their foundation to expand access to sports, healthcare and education for children across India.He concluded his Teacher’s Day message with a reflection on how a teacher’s influence can go beyond a single student.“A teacher’s lessons may begin with one student, but their influence can travel much further, from one life to another and from one generation to the next,” Tendulkar wrote.“Happy Teachers Day!”