If the organisers of the Marathi literary meet have their way, Sachin Tendulkar could soon be on stage reciting poetry.
The organisers of the 83rd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan, to be held in Pune at the end of this month, plan to invite Tendulkar for the inauguration and want him to read from the works of his father, author and poet Ramesh Tendulkar.
The literary meet will be inaugurated by Tendulkar’s old neighbour, poet and Jnanpith awardee, Vinda Karandikar.
Dr Satish Desai, chairperson of event’s reception committee, said an informal invitation has been extended to Tendulkar and the organisers would soon meet him with an official invite.
A letter written to Tendulkar says: “We have affection for you as a world record-holding batsman and as the son of [Ramesh] Tendulkar sir and we will be delighted with your presence.”
Tendulkar’s secretary, Sachin Pardhi, pleaded ignorance about the invitation. Tendulkar, himself, told a Marathi news channel that he would think over the invitation after receiving it.
In November, Tendulkar had drawn flak from the Shiv Sena for saying Mumbai belongs to all. Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote an open letter to Tendulkar asking him not to take a “cheeky single” by moving on to the political pitch. Tendulkar, however, has refrained from commenting on Thackeray’s remarks.