To Sachin, with love

As the nation gets ready to bid adieu to its cricketing legend, can Kerala be far behind?

Working towards making the master-blaster's retirement a memorable one, two music albums are set to welcome Sachin as he makes his way to Kochi for the India-West Indies one-day match on November 21.

A hardcore fan of the legend, C.V.Ranjith, a Kannur native, has come out with a music album to honour Sachin.

With encouragement and support of The Kerala Cricket Academy, Ranjith, who is a music director and singer himself, has also acted in the album. The album will be screened at the stadium on November 21 during the game. The Kerala Cricket Association has also decided to name a Pavilion at the Nehru International Stadium after Sachin Tendulkar.

Another group of young singers have come together to record a single to be released on YouTube next week. The track, a parody of the Malayalam song "Sooryanay Thazhuki..." from 'Sathyam Shivam Sundaram', is written by Abdul Khader and sung by Fahad, Rafeeq, Shabeer and Ali.

“The visuals will be a mix of photographs and videos of Sachin along with visuals of the recording. We are also planning to insert English subtitles for the song and to send a copy to Sachin. The recording is complete, and we are currently working on the visuals now,“ says Abdul Khader.

The state is busy figuring out new and creative ways to bid farewell to the cricketer. The students of BSS Gurukulam Higher Secondary School, Palakkad turned up wearing Sachin masks to school. Nearly 2,000 students along with the teachers and non-teaching staff, wore the masks as a mark of respect.

As of now, the only mantra on the lips of Keralites is Sachin, Sachin, Sachin...