Great expectations

Twenty plus years ago, Harsha Bhogle was embarking on his journalistic career when he had a chance to profile a child prodigy in Bombay. With great care and background, Bhogle traced the rapid rise of Sachin Tendulkar.

(The Hindu 2009)

Just as Sachin has lived up to those expectations (actually blown past them and far exceeded them), so has Bhogle's writing. The key for any writer is to have a style that is uniquely their own. This article by Harsha is a fairy generic one without a distinctive voice but never does it lose its grasp of the reader's interest. Bhogle ends the article by saying:

This is really just the beginning and I will be watching this little star with avid interest for the next three years.

If he is still charting blockbusters, I'd love to do another review then.

He was wrong on both counts. Bhogle has been following Sachin for more than 22 years now and has written numerous "reviews" of the boy-man. Two days ago, on CricInfo, Harsha unveiled his latest review of Tendulkar. Today, Harsha has a distinctive style that a regular reader can pick up on without needing to read his name in the byline.

Sachin Tendulkar may have inspired others to write poetry but he batted in robust prose. Not for him the tenderness and fragility of the poet, the excitement of a leaf fluttering in a gentle breeze. No. Tendulkar is about a plantation standing up to the typhoon, the skyscraper that stands tall, the cannon that booms. Solid. Robust. Focused. The last word is the key. He loves the game deeply but without the eccentricities of the romantic. There is a match to be won at all times.

May the two of them continue to entertain us for a long time.