HIS cricketing genius was in any case bound to bloom whatever the milieu. But, be reasonable, without the gush of the so-called economic reforms and liberalisation, Sachin Tendu-lkar would not have come to attain the celebrity status—and the consequential affluence—he has attained. This calls for some cogitation. Sachin has ordinary, very ordinary middle class roots; his mental horizon in the initial phase at least was, one can safely say, constricted by the imagery and folklore that attaches to the humdrum Shivaji Park neighbourhood. And yet, the inner talent had to be out; this brat had the natural flair for hitting a cricket ball to all seemingly impossible directions by virtue of his ability to assume all seemingly impossible stances with the bat. He soon learnt the technique that goes with great batting.