THE TENDULKAR FACTOR .. then & now

There were serious commentaries a decade back "India's economic rise coincided with career of Sachin Tendulkar" Apr 4 2011-Economic Times. As Sachin Tendulkar retired after 24 years in international cricket, Business Today discovers some uncanny parallels between the maestro's career and the country's economy

While the Tendulkar era is over, we are trying to find the link between feeling good and economy doing well .. or vice versa. Once, triumphs are is shared vicariously, for e.g. in sports or space or war, it is impossible for an individual and a country not to reflect that uplifted feeling in his or their collective actions.

That uplifted feeling may reflect in generous raises to staff or greater diligence in payment of taxes or even donating more to public causes. Recent events like Indian cricket team achieving the impossible in the Oval test of 2025 due to the heroics of a fired up Mohammad Siraj delivering the final blow, highlights a 'Tendulkar' moment.

While the country may newer sporting heroes or heroines, there is no doubt about the collective surge of pride permeating the mood of a country as well. which is the result of the innate need for inspiration. Whatever the inspiration, like the graphic descriptions of Gandhi's Salt March in 1930 or the sculpture depicting the Iwo Jima battle of 1945, these lift up entire nation's spirit when it's needed. There is a concept that a person is composed of both a physical body and a spiritual or non-physical aspect, and that neither is completely dominant. Whether scientifically proven or not, there is no rational explanation for the dizzying triumphs of the human spirit, whether in sports or in literature whether they are within the mind or expressed through the body.