The Great Tamasha

Cricket, Corruption, and the Turbulent Rise of Modern India

Nonfiction, Sports, Cricket, Food & Drink, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science
Cover of the book The Great Tamasha by James Astill, Bloomsbury Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Astill ISBN: 9781620401231
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Publication: July 9, 2013
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Language: English
Author: James Astill
ISBN: 9781620401231
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication: July 9, 2013
Imprint: Bloomsbury USA
Language: English

To understand modern India, one must look at the business of cricket within the country.

When Lalit Modi--an Indian businessman with a criminal record, a history of failed business ventures, and a reputation for audacious deal making--created a Twenty20 cricket league in India in 2008, the odds were stacked against him. International cricket was still controlled from London, where they played the long, slow game of Test cricket by the old rules. Indians had traditionally underperformed in the sport but the game remained a national passion. Adopting the highly commercial American model of sporting tournaments, and throwing scantily clad western cheerleaders into the mix, Modi gave himself three months to succeed. And succeed he did--dazzlingly--before he and his league crashed to earth amid astonishing scandal and corruption.

The emergence of the IPL is a remarkable tale. Cricket is at the heart of the miracle that is modern India. As a business, it represents everything that is most dynamic and entrepreneurial about the country's economic boom, including the industrious and aspiring middle-class consumers who are driving it. The IPL also reveals, perhaps to an unprecedented degree, the corrupt, back-scratching, and nepotistic way in which India is run.

A truly original work by a brilliant journalist, The Great Tamasha* makes the complexity of modern India--its aspiration and optimism straining against tradition and corruption--accessible like no other book has.

*Tamasha: a Hindi world meaning "a spectacle."

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

To understand modern India, one must look at the business of cricket within the country.

When Lalit Modi--an Indian businessman with a criminal record, a history of failed business ventures, and a reputation for audacious deal making--created a Twenty20 cricket league in India in 2008, the odds were stacked against him. International cricket was still controlled from London, where they played the long, slow game of Test cricket by the old rules. Indians had traditionally underperformed in the sport but the game remained a national passion. Adopting the highly commercial American model of sporting tournaments, and throwing scantily clad western cheerleaders into the mix, Modi gave himself three months to succeed. And succeed he did--dazzlingly--before he and his league crashed to earth amid astonishing scandal and corruption.

The emergence of the IPL is a remarkable tale. Cricket is at the heart of the miracle that is modern India. As a business, it represents everything that is most dynamic and entrepreneurial about the country's economic boom, including the industrious and aspiring middle-class consumers who are driving it. The IPL also reveals, perhaps to an unprecedented degree, the corrupt, back-scratching, and nepotistic way in which India is run.

A truly original work by a brilliant journalist, The Great Tamasha* makes the complexity of modern India--its aspiration and optimism straining against tradition and corruption--accessible like no other book has.

*Tamasha: a Hindi world meaning "a spectacle."

More books from Bloomsbury Publishing

Cover of the book Taste Test by James Astill
Cover of the book Continental vs Redcoat by James Astill
Cover of the book Portraits of Wittgenstein by James Astill
Cover of the book The Future of Contract Law in Latin America by James Astill
Cover of the book Hip Hop Headphones by James Astill
Cover of the book The New Zealand Expeditionary Force in World War II by James Astill
Cover of the book Geoarchaeology by James Astill
Cover of the book How to Outsmart a Billion Robot Bees by James Astill
Cover of the book 'Sir!' She Said by James Astill
Cover of the book Ready To Fire by James Astill
Cover of the book Spellbound by James Astill
Cover of the book The Dreyfus Affair by James Astill
Cover of the book European Penology? by James Astill
Cover of the book The Ghost Runner by James Astill
Cover of the book British Mark IV Tank by James Astill
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy