Sachin Tendulkar announces Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship on Teachers' Day

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar used Teachers' Day to honour the memory of his late father, Ramesh Tendulkar, with the launch of the Professor Ramesh Tendulkar Memorial Fellowship. The initiative, run through the Sachin Tendulkar Foundation, will select one Doctor of Medicine each year for a year-long programme focused on cleft and craniofacial care in Srinagar. Doctors who complete the programme will receive a certificate from the Foundation.

"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 wrote on Instagram.

Ramesh Tendulkar, who suffered a fatal heart attack and passed away at his home in Mumbai in 1999 at the age of 68, was a professor, writer and poet. Sachin described him as far more than those titles.

"My father, Ramesh Tendulkar, was a writer, poet, and 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," Sachin added.

What values did Ramesh Tendulkar pass on to his son?

Sachin spoke about the lessons he absorbed growing up under his father's guidance. Ramesh Tendulkar never imposed a direction on his son but instead created the conditions for him to find his own way. One principle in particular stayed with Sachin through his career.

"Failure is okay, but cheating is not. Never take shortcuts," he recalled his father telling him.

Sachin also described how his father approached his cricketing ambitions. Rather than steering him towards a fixed outcome, Ramesh chose to observe and support.

"I was simply a boy who loved playing cricket. My father saw something more. He did not try to decide what I should become. Instead, he gave me the space and support to discover it for myself," Tendulkar said.

That experience shaped his broader view of what teachers and mentors offer.

"That, in many ways, is what a great teacher or mentor does. They recognise a possibility in you before you can recognise it yourself," he said.

Tendulkar, now 53, added that talent is widespread across the country, but many young people do not get access to the right coaches, mentors, learning environments or healthcare support needed to develop their potential.

What does the fellowship aim to achieve?

Tendulkar described the fellowship as a direct expression of the beliefs his father held throughout his life. The initiative is designed to give young healthcare professionals access to specialised training they might not otherwise be able to pursue.

"For me, this is more than a fellowship. It is a way of carrying forward something my father deeply believed in, that education creates opportunity, and that opportunity becomes truly meaningful when it is used to serve others," Sachin noted.

He also spoke about his hope that the fellowship would replicate, in some measure, the confidence his father gave him.

"My father gave me the confidence to find my own path. He dedicated his life to educating and guiding others, and I hope we can create that same sense of possibility for others," he said.

Tendulkar closed his statement by reflecting on the reach that a single teacher's influence can have across generations.

"The lessons of a teacher may begin with one student, but their influence can travel much further, from one life to another and from one generation to the next," he concluded.