PUNE, June 4: It was last Tuesday evening. He was walking around in Chaura Bazaar, when he heard a voice call: ``Sachin. Sachin Tendulkar.'' He turned around and walked to the man who had called. It was the owner of an optical shop. ``I asked him if it was me he had called out to. `IBilkul Sachin bhaaji. Tuhano hi bula raye hain' he replied, and then offered me a pair of sun glasses,'' says Balbir Singh, a Ludhianavi lad who bears an uncanny resemblance to cricket star, Sachin Tendulkar.This 29-year-old ward boy in the neurosurgery department of the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital resembles the young cricketer in almost all aspects: height, hairdo, style of dressing, and even the smile. ``When I realised that I'm Sachin's look-alike, I tried to imitate him in every possible way. I even got my hair curled and practised his smile and style of talking,'' says Balbir.A resident of Chandan Nagar, Balbir hails from Nawanshahar. He says he wanted to become a doctor or an engineer, ``but the poor financial condition of the family did not permit it. I had to drop out of school after matriculation,'' he adds.So strong is his resemblance with the cricket hero that even his family gets foxxed at times. Balbir narrates an incident: ``Once I was watching a cricket match on TV with my wife and kids. When Sachin entered the field, my kids started shouting, `Look Mummy! That's Daddy on the TV'. The kids really thought that was me."Balbir also likes to use this resemblance for having some fun in life. ``I've put up my posters on the walls of my house. When my friends come over they tease me by calling me Sachin's fan. If only they knew it's me in those pictures,'' he grins.Balbir calls his resemblance one of nature's many mysteries. He is confident that some day big companies will approach him to model for their products. When asked what he would say or do if he gets a chance to meet Sachin Tendulkar, he replied, innocent as a child: ``I'll ask him to remove my poverty.''
