Cake Competitions: Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar Cakes

Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar was born on 24th April 1984, the same year as my youngest son, Mika. 

Mika was a cricket enthusiast when he was just 8 years old. He was strong and tall and wanted to be a fast bowler. I knew nothing about cricket. I watched him practice with great dedication. 

He practised incessantly, bowling at a single stump, entirely by himself. 

Jacob, who is a cricket fan, told me Mika could make the ball swing in the air both ways. Which was obviously good.

Mika had tremendous pace and direction. With no one coaching him, he developed his own beautiful style and rhythm. I could feel the energy in him when I watched him from our dining room window. 

Mika was crazy about cricket. His grandfather gave him a copy of the Wisden, so not only was a bowler in the making, he knew his Wisden by heart.

When he was just 10, I made him a birthday cake in Bangalore which complimented the enormous dedication and talent he had towards cricket. Probably the happiest day of his life.

With his very direct family connections to MRF, who had just started the MRF Pace Foundation under the guidance of Dennis Lilee, had Mika remained in India, he would have been, undoubtedly, a fast bowler of some standing. 

A family decision in 1984 to move to Finland shattered his dreams. 

When we moved to Finland, he refused to adjust and even make any effort to learn the language. His sister, just two years older than him, learnt the Finnish language just a couple of months.

This anarchist behaviour of Mika continued for a full year, till he discovered Chess. He joined the local Chess Club where his father was going. Within a year won the Oulu Junior Championship. He was second in the National Junior Chess Championships when he was just 14. 

Mika realised that there was a life outside cricket. He adjusted to life in Finland. He bought every book available on Chess and read all of them, cover to cover, till there was nothing he did not know about his new love. Cricket faded from his vocabulary. What was chess's gain was a loss to cricket. His was a fan of Vishwanathan Anand wh became a grandmaster in 1988.

Sachin has gone on to become the world’s greatest cricketer. Maybe he would have been a partner of Mika if the latter had stayed in a cricket loving nation!

As a tribute to Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar, I am holding two cake competitions here on Art By Annikki. 

To take part in the competition you have to abide by the rules and regulations which apply to both competitions.

Competition 1: Identify the Cakes

This is the cake that was made for Sachin on his 40th Birthday. It is an example of a designer cake. The cricket bat, ball and stumps, along with the photograph of sachin, and the edging which reflects great moments in his cricketing life are a good example of a designed cake.

Below are 11 other cakes that have been associated with Sachin. 

The competition, which is a test of both knowledge and skill, is that the entrant has to identify the year that each of these cakes were made AND also indicate for what occasions the cakes were made. 

The entry, along with the entry details specified in the rules and regulations, have to be sent by email to me before 24th December 2013. 

The email should indicate the Cake Number, as shown in the picture above, and the year and occasion associated with each cake.

There will be 3 prizes, valued each at £100, of the Coffee Table Book of Edible Art, signed by me, a Finnish Artist and primary author, Annikki Matthan. 

In case of a tie, lots will be drawn and prizes awarded to three contestants.

Competition 2: Design a Cake as  Tribute for Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar

This is a competition where Cake Designers can design and make an original cake in honour of Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar. 

The photograph of the cake 600 dpi resolution, with a list of materials used, along with the entry details specified in the rules and regulations has to be sent to me before 24th December 2013. All materials have to be edible. The cake will be judged on originality of design, the materials used and the use of light and other environment resources to create the effect and also honour Bhrat ratna Sachin Tendulkar.

The prize will be two tickets to attend the next Cricket World Cup in 2015. All costs of attending the World Cup will be the sole responsibility of the winners. (Travel and accommodation are not part of the prize.)

The eBook "Edible Art" can be obtained from Scribd.com. The Paperback Version of the book, at a special 40% Christmas Discount and personally signed by me, can be obtained from Lulu.com.

"The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 11th ICC Cricket World Cup, and will be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand and is scheduled to take place from 14 February to 29 March 2015. 49 matches will be played in 14 venues with Australia staging 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney while New Zealandhosting 23 games in seven cities, including Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington. The final of the tournament will take place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground." (Wikipedia)