“SACHIN: Genius Unplugged” is not only a jubilee of a master but also an unprejudiced take on what India as a nation, heaps on Tendulkar, as Suresh Menon’s latest piece of work describes

Suresh Menon’s latest square of work is boundless and refreshing. Sachin Tendulkar seen by a prism like never before. It has been argued that Tendulkar is the beneficiary (and victim) of an Indian culture of hero-worship, but this theory severs Tendulkar from his times and therefore obscures his significance. His career coincides with the rise of neo-liberal India and its competitive, inspirational ethic. For the class of Indians that in these years entered and embraced the global consumer culture, Tendulkar became a powerful signifier. If Sachin hadn’t existed, India would have had to invent him. The dominant culture of the day demanded an icon of success. This success has been seen as simultaneously “individual” and “national”. Tendulkar’s personal achievements were represented as a triumph for India as a whole, a sign of the country advancing on the world stage – like Indian corporations opening plants in Europe or the USA. Unwittingly and unwillingly, he found himself at the epicenter of a popular culture shaped by the intertwined growth of a consumerist middle class and an assertive, sometimes aggressive form of national identity. How he’s not been crushed by it all remains at least in part a mystery. Tendulkar has been a modern man playing in a modern style in the modern marketplace - and that’s what makes him of supreme importance to Indians. He’s a homegrown genius excelling in a transcontinental spectacle, a high-value icon of personal success in a globalized economy, a world-beater bred in the heart of Mumbai’s status-hungry middle class, yet he’s survived largely untainted by the turmoil, factionalism, jealousy and corruption surging around him. “SACHIN: Genius Unplugged” is beyond another book that discusses Sachin’s achievements; it brings the god of crocket in blood and flesh. Watch out the maestro opening up at www.rightbooks.in/product_details.asp?pid=9789380658179&SACHIN Genius Unplugged for you and RightBooks.in brings it right there.