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 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer 1943–97 by James Astill
Cover of the book The Country Railway by James Astill
Cover of the book Phenomenology and the Social Context of Psychiatry by James Astill
Cover of the book Madame Sousatzka by James Astill
Cover of the book The Friendly Pirates: A Bloomsbury Young Reader by James Astill
Cover of the book Do You Know Who I Am? by James Astill
Cover of the book International Environmental Law by James Astill
Cover of the book Playing with the Past by James Astill
Cover of the book Dawn of a New Order by James Astill
Cover of the book Beswick Pottery by James Astill
Cover of the book A Short History of Transatlantic Slavery by James Astill
Cover of the book A New Philosophy of Society by James Astill
Cover of the book Where the Clocks Chime Twice by James Astill
Cover of the book The Play That Goes Wrong by James Astill
Cover of the book Badajoz 1812 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