Sachin Tendulkar: An analogy for modern India

"For close to two decades, Tendulkar has dominated India’s collective consciousness in a way no other sportsperson (well, no other person) has. He has more than bound a nation. He has bridged the generation gap...fathers and sons are united for once – in their devotion to him. When Tendulkar bats against Pakistan, Ramachandra Guha tells us 'In a Corner of a Foreign Field', India’s television audience exceeds the population of Europe."

In this 2,322-word feature profile the editor of Hindustan Times in Mumbai, Soumya Bhattacharya opens up the story of India's little legend to explain why Sachin Tendulkar's statistical success on the pitch cannot alone justify the adulation that this self-made sportsman continues to inspire.

"He has made men past adolescence discover again the joys of hero worship. Even the cynics amongst us, those of us ever wary of idolatry, become like awed, star-struck children when he is at the crease. God (if there was one, we think), on a good day, would do well to match his genius."

Coming to the conclusion that, "In a way, [Tendulkar's] career...has something to do with when he came along, and how his life became entwined with contemporary India’s story of growth, hope and change...National aspirations and national frustrations are poured by millions into his every performance."

Bhattacharya's is an article for cricket lovers, the ones who know what that "heart-lurching delirium" feels like when Tendulkar hits a piercing cover drive.

Soumya Bhattacharya, editor of Hindustan Times in Mumbai, is the author of the memoir, "You Must Like Cricket?"