Tendulkar masks dazzle as 2,000 students bid adieu in style

Kozhikode: Paying glowing tribute in their own way to master blaster Sachin Tendulkar who is retiring from cricket, around 2,000 students of a school in Palakkad district of Kerala donned Tendulkar masks during the one-hour long assembly.

The ground at the BSS Gurukulam Higher Secondary at Alathur virtually turned into `faces` of Tendulkar as the students, teachers and non-teaching staff turned up with the masks yesterday to record their appreciation for the batting legend. A flag, which had the photograph of Tendulkar drawn by the students with a message `we love, we respect, we salute you Sachin` written on it, was hoisted on the occassion. A song penned by three students -- Nithil, Akhil and Irshad -- `Goodbye Master Blaster. In Our deep heart, Sachin You will be with us all day.....` was sung, accompanied by orchestra during the assembly. "This is our respect to the great player who had brought laurels to the country," said school Principal Vijayan V Anand. Tendulkar has announced he would retire after playing his 200th Test in Mumbai.