New Gavaskar biography unveils the other side of Sunny

MUMBAI: SMG, a biography written by Devendra Prabhudesai and published by Rupa, is set to hit the stands. The 537-page book is the biggest of the four biographies on him. The earlier ones were written by England's Chris Clark, Indian veteran journalist KR Wadhwany and West Indian Clifford Narinesingh.
The book not only recaps Gavaskar's cricketing exploits but sheds light on his multifarious second innings as columnist, administrator, commentator and gives insights into his methods and mindset.Rahul Dravid will launch the book in Mumbai on Saturday.
The book has an interesting quote from Dravid about Gavaskar: "His impact on Indian cricket has been phenonmenal. He inspired a whole generation of cricketers with his feats on the field and his fearlessness to voice his opinion on different issues off it. He possesses the ability to express himself lucidly and it is no secret that his views are valued. You may or may not agree with everything he says but there is no doubt that he has enhanced the profile of the game in general and that of Indian cricket in particular."
The author says Gavaskar's impact on Indian cricket can be compared to the Mahatma's on India's struggle of independence. "Both men evoked and continue to evoke extreme reactions. Some people swore by them while others swore at them. While the Mahatma took the freedom movement to the common man, SMG took the initiative in showing the world that Indian cricketers could also be consistently good, if not better than others.
It was just that they made fewer mistakes than others. Both fell short of their ultimate objectives. The 1947 vivisection destroyed the Mahatma's dream of a united sub-continent, while SMG could not convince the world that the Indian cricket team was the best in the world. But they laid the foundation for their respective successors to build upon."
The author adds, "The man defied and destroyed old traditions and instituted new ones. Like all good middle-class Indians he achieved his objective by doing the basics right and making optimal use of his brains. While this approach was by no means unprecedented the fact is that SMG elevated it to a hitherto inconceivable level."
The author quotes Gavaskar's Man Friday Hemant Waingankar saying he achieved almost everything except the indoor school at Bandra - a dream that Waingankar would help him achieve.
The biggest tribute in the book to Gavaskar is when the author reproduces all-time great cricket pundit Richie Benaud's dream level which has Sunny opening with Sir Jack Hobbs followed by Sir Don Bradman, Sir Viv Richards, Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, Imran Khan, Dennis Lillee, Shane Warne and Sydney Barnes. The Don would have Barry Richards instead of Gavaskar.
The author finds it bizzare that the Indian Olympic President Suresh Kalmadi used Gavaskar at Trinidad for the Delhi Commonwealth Games bid but went back on his proposal to have cricket in the games. And he openly said he signed the proposal only to win the bid which he had failed on two previous occasions.
Discussing Gavaskar's writings, the author recalls his analysis of how Sachin repeatedly missed on his century. "The little champ may have realised the he has got out when is playing off the back foot and that ton the back half of his body... Dravid too when he is in trouble, is out when he is playing in the wrong half of his body. The little champ's game is based on the front foot and when he is hitting it off the middle of the bat, he he playing it with his eyes on top of the ball as it is on the front half of his body. Even when he hits off the back foot the contact is more in the front half of body, and that's how the power comes through as well."
Finally the compassionate Gavaskar comes though when the author tells us that through the Champs organisation he formed with Nana Chudasama and Khalid Ansari monthly honorarium go to people of different sports - woman boxer Mary Kom, Bir Bahadur (football),Keshav Dutt and Gopal Bhengra (hockey),Gajanan Hemmady (badminton), Salim Durani (cricket) and Premjit Lall (tennis).
The author concludes, "Simply put he made Indian cricket and in the process more than one generation of Indians believe in itself."
As for Gavaskar he says about the book,"There are some things you know about me which I didn't know myself."