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His movements at the crease are small but exact.His timing,impeccable.He said once that he did not believe in footwork for its conventional purpose, because the tempo of Test cricket did not permit a batsman the textbook indulgence of getting to the pitch of the ball. Rather, he thought of footwork as a means of balancing himself up at the crease so that each shot was hit just as he meant it. He scores predominantly through the off side, an unusual characteristic for such a heavy run-maker, but of course he can play every shot. Be it a fine leg glance or a powerful square-cut or perhaps a reverse sweep, his magic never fails.

Often the master is compared with some of the great batsmen like Lara who also dominated in the same era as Sachins.Lara`s batting is characterised by explosion and violence, which no doubt is entertaining, but Sachin`s ways are timeless.His battles with Shane Warne, the spin wizard have been for ages.Tendulkar`s attack on Pakistani bowlers in the world cup 2003 was something that cricket followers across the globe will never forget. It was as if the "Sarjameen-e-Hindustan ka aanokha Yoddha" fighting the battle to save his motherland.It is said that the common element to concepts of beauty among all peoples is symmetry, a balance between all the parts. So it is with Tendulkar's batting.

But how can a young man of 16 years carry the hopes and takes responsibility for the well being of untold millions on the impossible subcontinent? In this, he is also divine. All eyes are upon him, day and night, but no scandal has attached itself, not in his private life nor in his cricket endeavours. He is the little man on the big posters and hoardings, creating a kind of reverse Big Brother effect; he is not watching them, but they are watching him. Still he stands tall.

Sometimes petty criticism is made that he fails India in its hours of need, but it is not borne out by the figures, and besides, no one man could take upon his shoulders all of India's needy hours. After all, its a team sport.Just 33, he has already made more than 70 international centuries. (75 to be precise !)

When called upon, he also bowls intelligently, if sparingly. He is sure in the field. His commitment is never below 100% which is an achievement in itself. He is not a natural captain for the modern era because he can lead only by example. He does not have a charismatic presence in a cricket stadium, but rather fills it in a different way, as the one certainty in a sea of doubt. Batting is the most fraught of sporting pursuits because even for the best the end is only ever one ball away. Tendulkar seems to turn that verity upon itself.

As Tendulkar put Bradman in mind of himself, so he puts others in mind of Bradman. Once I was on a night train winding down from Mumbai to Mangalore that stopped halfway for refreshments at a station lit by flaming torches. On a small television screen wreathed in cigarette smoke in the corner of the dining room Tendulkar was batting in a match in Mumbai. No one moved or spoke or looked away.Except for the blazzing blade of Tendulkars everything was still, even the fielders.They didnt even bothered to move even an inch since the ball used to pass like a bullet and right in between the two fielders.The train was delayed by 20 minutes. Not until Tendulkar was out could the world resume its normal timetables and rhythms !

Lastly, I think ,if Ian Botham can be seen as the Errol Flynn of cricket, or Viv Richards as the Martin Luther King, or Shane Warne as the Marilyn Monroe, or Muttiah Muralitharan as the hobbit, Tendulkar is surely the game's secular saint. A man whose name is synonymous with purity, of technique, philosophy and image.

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