'Noteworthy' birthday gift awaits Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar and Ratilal Parmar

Mumbai: Ratilal Parmar considers himself a unique Sachin Tendulkar fan. And with good reason; Parmar has currency notes whose numbers associate with the life of the legendary batsman. His latest acquisition is a 10-rupee note that bears the number 240412 which denotes the date of Tendulkar’s 39th birthday.

Keeping track

"I wanted to do something different. That is why I started collecting currency notes that match his records and important dates. I have kept track of his entire career this way," 56-year-old Parmar told MiD DAY from Morbi in Gujarat on Monday.

Special meeting

Though Parmar has met Tendulkar only once — during the India vs New Zealand 2010 Test at Motera, near Ahmedabad — he is hoping to meet the legend once again before calling it a day. "I want to present Sachin with the notes associated with his milestones, especially the 100th international ton (he has a note bearing the 160312 which is the date, month and year of his landmark effort)," he vowed.

However, Parmar's passion is proving to be quite expensive for him. "This isn’t easy to do. I must have spent nearly Rs 10 lakh to collect these currency notes. I knew some people in banks and they would help me find notes matching a particular event. At times, I would have to plead with them," he revealed.

Collection of Rs 10 Note by Ratilal Parmar