Batting maestro Tendulkar lauds shutterbugs

Mumbai:

Having been chased endlessly by them all his life, batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar acknowledged the importance of shutterbugs in a cricketer's life in his own modest way.

"As a cricketer I can tell you, I have seen photographers sit under the sun on a cricket field for an entire day, waiting for that one magical moment," said the champion batsman who felicitated the winners of the photo contest based on the theme "Streets of Mumbai" here on Wednesday night.

"It is thanks to you that we cricketers get a chance to relive all those golden moments in our lives once again," Tendulkar said.

To the sheer delight of the queuing photographers, who had till then scrambled to snap him with their lenses, the cricket legend also fulfilled their desire of being clicked with him.

Lauding them, the master said, "the theme of 'Streets of Mumbai' is a novel concept. The photo-journalists have made a real effort in capturing the spirit of Mumbai."

Asked what he did to unwind himself in his spare moments, Tendulkar said,"I listen to lots of music. Be it Frank Sinatra, Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar or any other current great, it acts as a stress buster. I also watch a lot of movies. But above all I like spending time with my family," he said.

The top three winners of the contest, organised by Canon India, were presented with the company's professional cameras (EOS, 5D and EOS 500D) by Tendulkar.