Native name	Chennai (சென்னை)
Other name	Madras (மெட்ராஸ்)
Former name	Madras, Madrasapatnam
Type	Metropolitan city
Type 2	Capital
Locator position	left
Skyline	Chennai Montage.png
Skyline caption	Clock-wise from top: Chennai Central, Marina Beach, Kapaleeswarar Temple, Santhome Basilica, Bharatanatyam recital
State name	Tamil Nadu
District	• Chennai • Kanchipuram • Tiruvallur
Leader title 1	Mayor
Leader name 1	M. Subramaniam
Leader title 2	Corporation Commissioner
Leader name 2	D. Karthikeyan
Altitude	6
Population total	4,681,087
Population total cite
Population as of	2011
Population rank	5th
Population metro	7,413,779
Population metro cite
Population metro as of	2010
Population metro rank	4th
Population density	26,903
Area total	174
Area total cite
Area magnitude	8
Area metro	1189
Area telephone	044
Postal code	600 xxx
Vehicle code range	TN 01 to 10, 18, 20,& 22
Unlocode	IN MAA
Website	chennaicorporation.gov.in
Footnotes	}}

Chennai (; ), formerly known as Madras (; ) or Madarasapatinam (மதராசப்பட்டினம்), is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the fifth most populous city in India, and also the world's 36th largest metropolitan area. Chennai had a population of 4.34 million in the 2001 census within the area administered by the Corporation of Chennai and an extended metropolitan population of 6.5 million. The urban agglomeration of metropolitan Chennai has an estimated population over 8.2 million people. According to an A.C. Nielsen survey, Chennai is regarded as the second cleanest city in India.

Chennai's economy has a broad industrial base in the automobile, computer, technology, hardware manufacturing and healthcare industries. The city is India's second largest exporter of software, information technology (IT) and information-technology-enabled services (ITES). A major chunk of India's automobile manufacturing industry is based in and around the city. Chennai Zone contributes 39 per cent of the State's GDP. Chennai accounts for 60 per cent of the country's automotive exports, which leads it to be called as 'The Detroit of Asia'.

Chennai is an important centre for Carnatic music and hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene and is an important centre for the Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form. The Tamil film industry, one of the largest film industries in India, is based in the city; the soundtracks of the films dominate its music scene.

Names

The name ''chennai'' is a shortened form of ''Chennapattanam'' (சென்னப்பட்டணம்), the name of the town that grew around Fort St. George, which was built by the English in 1640. There are two versions about the origin of the name ''Chennai'': according to one version, ''Chennapattanam'' was named after Damarla Chennappa Nayakudu, Nayaka of Kalahasthi and Vandavasi father of Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu, from whom the English acquired the town in 1639. The first official use of the name ''Chennai'' is said to be in a sale deed, dated 8 August 1639, to Francis Day of the English East India Company. According to the second account, ''Chennapattanam'' was named after the Chenna Kesava Perumal Temple; the word ''chenni'' in Tamil means ''face'', and the temple was regarded as the face of the city.

The city's former name, ''Madras'', is derived from ''Madraspattinam'', a fishing village north of Fort St. George. There is some argument among researchers about the exact origin of the name ''Madraspattinam''. It has been suggested that the Portuguese, who arrived in the area in the 16th century, may have named the village ''Madre de Deus''. Another possibility is that the village's name came from the prominent ''Madeiros'' family (variously known as ''Madera'' or ''Madra'' in succeeding years) of Portuguese origin, which consecrated the ''Madre de Deus'' Church in the Santhome locality of Chennai in 1575. It is uncertain whether the name 'Madraspattinam' was in use before European influence.

It is widely believed that Madras was renamed as it is an English name. However, Madras is an exonym and the origin of the name of the madras still remains a puzzle.

Sometime after the English gained possession of the area in the 17th century, the two towns, ''Madraspattinam'' and ''Chennapattinam'', were merged, and the English referred to the united town as ''Madraspattinam''. The state government officially changed the name to ''Chennai'' in 1996, at a time when many Indian cities were being renamed.

History

The region around Chennai has served as an important administrative, military, and economic centre since the 1st century. Stone-age implements were found in a pit near Pallavaram in Chennai. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, Pallavaram was a megalithic cultural establishment.

The area was ruled by various South Indian dynasties, notably the Pallava, the Chera Dynasty, the Chola, the Pandya, and Vijaynagar. The town of Mylapore, now part of Chennai, was once a major Pallavan port. The Portuguese arrived in 1522 and built a port called ''São Tomé'' after the Christian apostle, St Thomas, who is believed to have preached in the area between 52 and 70 AD. In 1612, the Dutch established themselves near Pulicat, just north of the city.

On 22 August 1639, Francis Day of the British East India Company bought a small strip of land on the Coromandel Coast. The region was ruled by Damarla Venkatadri Nayakudu,, the Nayaka of Vandavasi. He granted the British permission to build a factory and warehouse for their trading enterprises. A year later, the British built Fort St George, which became the nucleus of the growing colonial city. Fort St. George housed the Tamil Nadu Assembly until the new Secretariat building was opened in 2010. In 1746, Fort St. George and Madras were captured by the French under General La Bourdonnais, the Governor of Mauritius, who plundered the town and its outlying villages. The British regained control in 1749 through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle and fortified the town's fortress wall to withstand further attacks from the French and another looming threat, Hyder Ali, the Sultan of Mysore. British forces reisted a French siege attempt in 1759. In 1769 the city was threatened by Mysore before the Treaty of Madras ended the war. By the late 18th century, the British had conquered most of the region around Tamil Nadu and the northern modern-day states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, establishing the Madras Presidency with Madras as the capital. Under British rule, the city grew into a major urban centre and naval base.

With the advent of railways in India in the late 19th century, the thriving urban centre was connected to other important cities such as Bombay and Calcutta, promoting increased communication and trade with the hinterland.

Madras was the only Indian city to be attacked by the Central Powers during World War I, when an oil depot was shelled by the German light cruiser on 22 September 1914, as it raided shipping lanes in the Indian Ocean, causing disruption to shipping.

After India gained its independence in 1947, the city became the capital of Madras State, renamed the state of Tamil Nadu in 1969. The violent agitations of 1965 against the imposition of Hindi as the national language, marked a major shift in the political dynamics of the city and the whole state.

On 26 December 2004, an Indian Ocean tsunami lashed the shores of Chennai, killing many and permanently altering the coastline.

Environment

Geography

Chennai is on the southeast coast of India in the northeast of Tamil Nadu on a flat coastal plain known as the Eastern Coastal Plains. Its average elevation is around , and its highest point is . The Marina Beach runs for 12 km along the shoreline of the city. Two rivers meander through Chennai, the Cooum River (or ''Koovam'') through the centre and the Adyar River to the south. A third river, the Kortalaiyar, flows through the northern fringes of the city before draining into the sea at Ennore. Adyar and Cooum rivers are heavily polluted with effluents and waste from domestic and commercial sources. The state government periodically removes silt and pollution from the Adyar river, which is much less polluted than the Cooum. A protected estuary on the Adyar forms a natural habitat for several species of birds and animals. The Buckingham Canal, inland, runs parallel to the coast, linking the two rivers. The Otteri Nullah, an east-west stream, runs through north Chennai and meets the Buckingham Canal at Basin Bridge. Several lakes of varying size are located on the western fringes of the city. Red Hills, Sholavaram and Chembarambakkam Lake supply Chennai with potable water. Groundwater sources are becoming brackish.

Chennai's soil is mostly clay, shale and sandstone. Sandy areas are found along the river banks and coasts, such as Thiruvanmiyur, Adyar, Kottivakkam, Santhome, George Town, Tondiarpet and the rest of coastal Chennai. Here rainwater runoff percolates quickly through the soil. Clay underlies most of the city including T. Nagar, West Mambalam, Anna Nagar, Villivakkam, Perambur and Virugambakkam. Areas of hard rock include Guindy, Perungudi, Velachery, Adambakkam and a part of Saidapet. Chennai is divided into four broad regions: North, Central, South and West. North Chennai is primarily an industrial area. Central Chennai is the commercial heart of the city and includes an important business district, Parry's Corner. South Chennai and West Chennai, previously mostly residential, are fast becoming commercial, home to a growing number of information technology firms, financial companies and call centres. The city is expanding quickly along the Old Mahabalipuram Road and the Grand Southern Trunk Road (GST Road) in the south and towards Ambattur, Koyambedu and Sriperumbdur in the west. Chennai is one of the few cities in the world that accommodates a national park, the Guindy National Park, within its limits. The city has an estimated 4.5% of its area under green cover.

Climate

Chennai has a tropical climate, specifically a tropical wet and dry climate. The city lies on the thermal equator and is also on the coast, which prevents extreme variation in seasonal temperature. The weather is hot and humid for most of the year. The hottest part of the year is late May to early June, known locally as ''Agni Nakshatram'' ("fire star") or as ''Kathiri Veyyil'', with maximum temperatures around . The coolest part of the year is January, with minimum temperatures around . The lowest temperature recorded is and highest The average annual rainfall is about . The city gets most of its seasonal rainfall from the north-east monsoon winds, from mid-October to mid-December. Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal sometimes hit the city. The highest annual rainfall recorded is in 2005. Prevailing winds in Chennai are usually southwesterly between April and October and northeasterly during the rest of the year.

Water

Historically, Chennai has relied on annual monsoon rains to replenish water reservoirs, as no major rivers flow through the area. With a steadily increasing population, the city has faced water supply shortages, and its ground water levels have been depleted. An earlier Veeranam Lake project failed to solve the city's water problems, but the New Veeranam project, which became operational in September 2004, has greatly reduced dependency on distant sources. In recent years, heavy and consistent monsoon rains and rainwater harvesting (RWH) by Chennai Metrowater at its Anna Nagar Rain Centre have significantly reduced water shortages. Moreover, newer projects like the Telugu Ganga project that bring water from water-surplus rivers like the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh have eased water shortages. The city has constructed a sea water desalination plant to further increase the water supply. However, Chennai is expected to face a huge deficit of 713 million litres per day (MLD) as the demand is projected at 2,248 MLD and supply estimated at only 1,535 MLD in 2026.

Administration

+ City officials, as of July 2011
Mayor	Ma. Subramanian
Deputy Mayor	R. Sathya Bama
Corporation Commissioner	Karthikeyan
Commissioner of Police	J.K Tripathy

Chennai city is governed by the Corporation of Chennai erstwhile, Corporation of Madras. Established in 1688, it is the oldest municipal corporation not only in India, but also in any Commonwealth nation outside the United Kingdom. It consists of 155 councillors who represent 155 wards and are directly elected by the city's residents. From among themselves, the councillors elect a mayor and a deputy mayor who preside over about six standing committees.

The area of jurisdiction of the Corporation of Chennai is set to expand manifold from its present extent of 176 km² to 436 km² pending a decision to be taken by the Government of Tamil Nadu. On doing this the population of Chennai is also set to increase from the present 4.5 million to over 8 million. Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, houses the state executive and legislative headquarters primarily in the Secretariat Buildings on the Fort St George campus but also in many other buildings scattered around the city. The Madras High Court, whose jurisdiction extends across Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, is the highest judicial authority in the state and is also in the city. Chennai has three parliamentary constituencies – Chennai North, Chennai Central and Chennai South – and elects 16 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) to the state legislature.

The metropolitan region of Chennai covers 5 parliamentary constituencies and 28 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and many suburbs that are part of Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur districts. The larger suburbs are governed by town municipalities, and the smaller ones are governed by town councils called panchayats. While the city covers an area of , the metropolitan area is spread over . The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has drafted a Second Master Plan that aims to develop satellite townships around the city. Contiguous satellite towns include Mahabalipuram to the south, Chengalpattu and Maraimalai Nagar to the southwest, and Kanchipuram town, Sriperumpudur, Tiruvallur and Arakkonam to the west.

Law and Order

The Greater Chennai Police department, a division of the Tamil Nadu Police, is the law enforcement agency in the city. The city police force is headed by a commissioner of police, and administrative control rests with the Tamil Nadu Home Ministry. The department consists of 36 subdivisions with a total of 121 police stations. The city's traffic is managed by the Chennai City Traffic Police (CCTP). The Metropolitan suburbs are policed by the Chennai Metropolitan Police, and outer district areas are policed by the Kanchipuram and Thiruvallur police departments.

Chennai city, the second most densely populated city in the country after Delhi, has a sanctioned strength of 14,000 police personnel compared with Delhi's 83,000, Mumbai's 45,000 and Kolkata's 23,000. With a population density of 26,903 persons per square kilometre, the city has 1 policeman for every 413 people. Chennai suburban police has about 4,093 police personnel and has a ratio of 1:1,222 compared to Mumbai and Mumbai suburban with 1:267, Delhi with 1:200 and Kolkata with 1:222.

In 2005, the crime rate in the city was 313.3 per 100,000 people, accounting for 6.2% of all crimes reported in major cities in India. The number of crimes in the city showed a significant increase of 61.8% from 2004. However, the city is considered the safest of all the four major metros in the country.

Utility Services

The Corporation of Chennai and municipalities of the suburbs provide civic services. Garbage in most zones is handled by ''Neel Metal Fanalica Environment Management'', a private company, and by the Chennai Corporation in the other zones. Water supply and sewage treatment are handled by the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewage Board, popularly referred to as ''CMWSSB''. Electricity is distributed by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. The city does not have a piped gas network and gas is supplied in cylinders by both state owned and private petroleum companies.

Historically, Chennai has relied on annual monsoon rains to replenish water reservoirs, as no major rivers flow through the area. With a steadily increasing population, the city has faced water supply shortages, and its ground water levels have been depleted. An earlier Veeranam Lake project failed to solve the city's water problems, but the New Veeranam project, which became operational in September 2004, has greatly reduced dependency on distant sources. In recent years, heavy and consistent monsoon rains and rainwater harvesting (RWH) by Chennai Metro water at its Anna Nagar Rain Centre have significantly reduced water shortages. Moreover, newer projects like the Telugu Ganga project that bring water from water-surplus rivers like the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh have eased water shortages. The city has constructed water desalination plants to further increase the water supply.

Telephone services in the city are provided by nine mobile phone service companies that include nine GSM networks and two CDMA networks along with four land line companies. Commercial and domestic broadband Internet services are provided by all the four land line service providers and a majority of the mobile network service providers. Some areas of the city are also covered by a paid Wifi Internet service.

Economy

According to ''Forbes'' magazine, Chennai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. It has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, hardware manufacturing, health care and financial services industries. According to the CII, Chennai is estimated to grow to a $100-billion economy, 2.5 times its present size, by the year 2025.

The city is base to around 30% of India's automobile industry and 35% of its auto components industry. A large number of automotive companies including Hyundai, Ford, BMW, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Peugeot, Komatsu, The TVS Group (TVS Electronics and TVS Motors), Ashok Leyland, Daimler Trucks, TI Cycles of India, TAFE Tractors, Royal Enfield, Caterpillar Inc., Caparo, Madras Rubber Factory (MRF), Michelin and Apollo Tyres have or are in the process of setting up manufacturing plants in and around Chennai. The Heavy Vehicles Factory at Avadi produces military vehicles, including India's main battle tank: ''Arjun MBT''. The Integral Coach Factory manufactures railway coaches and other rolling stock for Indian Railways. The Ambattur-Padi industrial zone houses many textile manufacturers, and an SEZ for apparel and footwear manufacture has been set up in the southern suburbs of the city. Chennai contributes more than 50% of India's leather exports. Many software and software services companies have development centres in Chennai, which contributed 14% of India's total software exports of 144,214 crores during 2006–07, making it the second-largest exporter, by city, of software in the country, behind Bangalore. The Tidel Park in Chennai is Asia's largest IT park. Major software companies have their offices set up here, with some of them making Chennai their largest base. Prominent financial institutions, including the World Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank have back office operations in the city. Chennai is home to two large national level commercial banks and many state level co-operative banks, finance and insurance companies. Telecom and Electronics manufacturers based in and around Chennai include Nokia, Nokia Siemens, Motorola, Dell, zebronics, Foxconn and Siemens among others. Telecom giants Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent, pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer and chemicals giant Dow Chemicals have research and development facilities in Chennai. TICEL bio-tech park and Golden Jubilee bio-tech park at Siruseri house biotechnology companies and laboratories. Chennai has a fully computerised stock exchange called the Madras Stock Exchange. Medical tourism is another important part of Chennai's economy with health care providers like Apollo Hospitals and Fortis Healthcare based in the city and the city is considered to be the health care capital of India. The Tamil movie industry and the related Tamil music industry and the Tamil television industry are also significant parts of Chennai's economy.

In the ''Inventory of World cities'' from the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, Chennai's level of network integration with other world cities is ranked as a "Gamma+", alongside cities such as Montreal, Nairobi, Bratislava, Panama City, Brisbane, Casablanca, Denver, Vancouver, Zagreb, Manama and Cape Town.

Demographics

{{bar box |width=250px |barwidth=100px |title=Religions in Chennai |left1=Religion |right1=Percentage |float=right |bars= }}

{{IndiaCensusPop |title= Population Growth of Chennai |1639=7000 |1646=19000 |1670=40000 |1681=200000 |1685=300000 |1691=400000 |1715=100000 |1726=100000 |1733=100000 |1791=300000 |1871=367552 |1881= 405848 |1891= 452518 |1901= 509346 |1911=518660 |1921=526911 |1931=647232 |1941=777481 |1951=1416056 |1961=1729141 |1971=2469449 |1981=3266034 |1991=3841398 |2001=4216268 |2011=4681087 |footnote=Sources:* 1639–1791:* 1871–1901: * 1871–1931: * 1931–1951: * 1951–1961: * 1991–2001: * 2001–2011: }} A resident of Chennai (Madras) is called a ''Chennaite''. According to the provisional population results of 2011, Chennai city has a population of 4,681,087, with a density of 26,903, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The city registered a growth rate of 8% during the period 1991–2001. The population of the metropolitan area is estimated to be more than 9.24 million. The estimated metropolitan population in 2006 is 4.5 million. With the area of the Chennai Corporation being extended to 456 km² the population with in the area administered by the corporation was 5.6 million in 2001 which makes it the third largest city in India. In 2001, the population density in the city was 24,682 per km² (63,926 per mi²), while the population density of the metropolitan area was 5,922 per km² (15,337 per mi²), making it one of the most densely populated cities in the world. The sex ratio is 951 females for every 1,000 males, slightly higher than the national average of 944. The average literacy rate is 85.33%, much higher than the national average of 64.5%. The city has the fourth highest population of slum dwellers among major cities in India, with about 820,000 people (18.6% of its population) living in slum conditions. This number represents about 5% of the total slum population of India.

The majority of the population in Chennai are Tamils. Tamil is the primary language spoken in Chennai. English is widely spoken especially in business, education and white collar professions. Telugus form the majority of the population among the non-Tamil community. Chennai also has a large migrant population, who come from other parts of Tamil Nadu and from the rest of the country apart from few Marwaris, Oriyans, Malayalis, Anglo-Indians, Bengalis and Punjabi and Kannadigas. Chennai also has a small expatriate population who work in IT firms. As of 2001, out of the 937,000 migrants (21.6% of its population) in the city, 74.5% were from other parts of the state, 23.8% were from rest of India and 1.7% were from outside the country.

According to the 2001 census, Hindus constitute about 81.3% of the city's population, and Muslims (9.4%), Christians (7.6%) and Jains (1.1%) are other major religious groups.

Culture

Chennai is a major centre for music, art and culture in India. The city is known for its classical dance shows and Hindu temples. Every December, Chennai holds a five-week long ''Music Season'' celebrating the 1927 opening of the Madras Music Academy. It features performances (''kutcheries'') of traditional Carnatic music by hundreds of artists in and around the city. An arts festival called the Chennai Sangamam, which showcases various arts of Tamil Nadu is held in January every year. Chennai is also known for Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form that originated in Tamil Nadu. An important cultural centre for Bharatanatyam is Kalakshetra, on the beach in the south of the city. Chennai is also home to some of the best choirs in India, who during the Christmas season stage various carol performances across the city in Tamil and English.

Chennai is the base for the large Tamil movie industry, known as ''Kollywood'', home to most of the movie studios. The industry makes more than 150 Tamil movies a year, and its soundtracks dominate the city's music. Some of the biggest names in the Indian film fraternity like Ilaiyaraaja, K. Balachander, Sivaji Ganesan, M. G. Ramachandran, Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam and S. Shankar are based out of Chennai. A. R. Rahman took Chennai to international fame by winning two Oscars, two Grammy Awards in 2009 for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. Chennai's theatres stage many Tamil plays; political satire, slapstick comedy, history, mythology and drama are among the popular genres. English plays are also staged in the city.

Among Chennai's festivals, Pongal is celebrated over five days in January, is the most important. Almost all major religious festivals such as Deepavali, Eid and Christmas are celebrated in Chennai. Tamil cuisine in Chennai includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Many of the city's restaurants offer light meals or tiffin, which usually include rice-based dishes like pongal, dosa, idli and vadai, served with steaming hot filter coffee.

Transport

Air

Chennai serves as a major gateway to southern India, and the Chennai International Airport, comprising the Anna international terminal and the Kamaraj domestic terminal with a total passenger movements of 10.53 million and aircraft movements of 110,000 in 2009–2010, is the third busiest airport in India. The city is connected to major hubs across Asia, Europe, and North America through more than 30 national and international carriers. The airport is the second busiest cargo terminus in the country with a total fright tonnage of 249,523.

The existing airport is undergoing further modernisation and expansion with an addition of 1069.99 acres, and a new greenfield airport is to be constructed at an estimated cost of 20,000 million in Sriperumbudur on of land.

Sea

The city is served by two major ports, Chennai Port, one of the largest artificial ports, and Ennore Port. The Chennai port is the largest in Bay of Bengal with an annual cargo tonnage of 61.46 million (2010–2011) and is India's second busiest container hub with an annual container volume of 1.523 million TEUs (2010–2011), handling automobiles, motorcycles and general industrial cargo. The Ennore Port with an annual cargo tonnage of 11.01 million (2010–2011) handles cargo such as coal, ore and other bulk and rock mineral products.

A smaller harbour at Royapuram is used by fishing boats and trawlers. A mega shipyard project called the Kattupalli Shipyard cum Captive Port Complex is being built by L&T Shipbuilding at Kattupalli village near Ennore and is expected to be operational in 2012.

Rail

Chennai is the headquarters of the Southern Railway. The city has two main railway terminals. Chennai Central station, the city's largest, provides access to other major cities as well as many other smaller towns across India. Chennai Egmore is a terminus for trains to destinations primarily within Tamil Nadu; it also handles a few inter-state trains. The Chennai suburban railway network, one of the oldest in the country, consists of four broad gauge sectors terminating at two locations in the city, namely Chennai Central and Chennai Beach. Regular services are offered in the following sectors from these termini: Chennai Central/Chennai Beach – Arakkonam – Tiruttani, Chennai Central/Chennai Beach – Gummidipoondi – Sullurpeta and Chennai Beach – Tambaram – Chengalpattu – Tirumalpur (Kanchipuram). The fourth sector is an elevated Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) which links Chennai Beach to Velachery and is interlinked with the remaining rail network. Construction is underway for an underground and elevated Chennai Metro rail.

Road

Chennai is well connected to other parts of India by road. Five major national highways link Chennai to Mumbai (via Bangalore), Kolkata, Kochi, Tiruchirapalli (Trichy) and Tirupati and onwards to the rest of the national highway system. Numerous state highways link the city to Puducherry and other towns and cities in Tamil Nadu and neighbouring states. The Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT), the terminus for all intercity buses from Chennai, is the largest bus station in Asia. Seven government-owned transport corporations operate inter-city and inter-state bus services. Many private inter-city and inter-state bus companies also operate services to and from Chennai. The Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) runs an extensive city bus system consisting of 3,421 buses on 690 routes, and moves an estimated 5.52 million passengers each day. Vans, popularly known as ''Maxi Cabs'' and 'share' auto rickshaws ply many routes in the city and provide an alternative to buses. Metered call taxis, tourist taxis and auto rickshaws are also available on hire. Chennai's transportation infrastructure provides coverage and connectivity, but growing use has caused traffic congestion and pollution. The government has tried to address these problems by constructing grade separators and flyovers at major intersections, starting with the Gemini flyover, built in 1973 over the most important arterial road, Anna Salai to the recently completed Kathipara Flyover.

According to the Transport Department's official report, the two-wheeler population shot up to 2.58 million in 2011 from 0.93 million in 2001 while the number of four-wheelers jumped to 0.56 million in 2011 from 0.21 million in 2001. On the other hand, on 1 April 2011, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation fleet strength was just 3,421, or 0.1% of the total vehicular population. The MTC fleet strength was 2,773 in 2006.

Media

Newspaper publishing started in Chennai with the launch of a weekly, ''The Madras Courier'', in 1785. It was followed by the weeklies ''The Madras Gazzette'' and ''The Government Gazzette'' in 1795. ''The Spectator'', founded in 1836, was the first English newspaper in Chennai to be owned by an Indian and became the city's first daily newspaper in 1853. The first Tamil newspaper, ''Swadesamitran'', was launched in 1899.

The major English dailies published in Chennai are ''The Hindu'', ''The New Indian Express'', ''The Deccan Chronicle'' and ''The Times of India'' recently joined the list. The evening dailies are, ''The Trinity Mirror'' and ''The News Today''. As of 2004, ''The Hindu'' was the city's most read English newspaper, with a daily circulation of 267,349. The major business dailies published from the city are ''The Economic Times'', ''The Hindu Business Line'', ''Business Standard'', ''Mint'' and ''The Financial Express''. The major Tamil dailies include the ''Dina Thanthi'', ''Dinakaran'', ''Dina Mani'', ''Dina Malar'', ''Tamil Murasu'', ''Makkal Kural'' and ''Malai Malar''. Major Telugu dailies include ''Eenadu'', ''Vaartha'', ''Andhra Jyothi'' and ''Sakshi''. The one and only Hindi Newspaper published from Chennai is the ''Rajasthan Patrika''. Neighbourhood newspapers such as ''The Anna Nagar Times'' and ''The Adyar Times'' cater to particular localities. Magazines published from Chennai include ''Ananda Vikatan'', ''Kumudam'', ''Kalki'', ''Kungumam'', ''Thuglak'', ''Frontline'' and ''Sportstar''.

Doordarshan runs two terrestrial television channels and two satellite television channels from its Chennai centre, which was set up in 1974. Private Tamil satellite television networks such as Sun TV, Raj TV, Zee Tamil, Star Vijay, Jaya TV, Makkal TV, Vasanth TV, Kalaignar TV and Captain TV broadcast out of Chennai. The Sun Network one of India's largest broadcasting companies is based in the city. While SCV is the monopoly cable TV service provider, direct-to-home (DTH) is available via DD Direct Plus, Dish TV, Tata Sky, Videocon DTH, Sun direct DTH, Reliance Big TV and Digital TV (Airtel-Bharti) Chennai is the first city in India to have implemented the Conditional Access System for cable television. Radio broadcasting started from the radio station at the Rippon Buildings complex, founded in 1930 and was then shifted to All India Radio in 1938. The city has 4 AM and 11 FM radio stations, operated by Anna University, All India Radio and private broadcasters.

Education and healthcare

Schools in Chennai are either run publicly by the Tamil Nadu government or privately, some with financial aid from the government. The medium of education is either English or Tamil, with the former being the majority. Most schools are affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board, the Matriculation Board or the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). A few schools are affiliated with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) board, there are schools which cater National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) board, Anglo-Indian board or the Montessori system. Schooling begins at the age of three with two years of kindergarten followed by ten years of primary and secondary education. Students then need to complete two years of higher secondary education in either science or commerce before being eligible for college education in a general or professional field of study. There are 1,389 schools in the city, out of which 731 are primary, 232 are secondary and 426 are higher secondary schools.

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and College of Engineering, Guindy, founded in 1794 and Madras Institute of Technology are centres for engineering education in the city. Most colleges that offer engineering programs are affiliated to Anna University. Madras Medical College (MMC), Stanley Medical College (SMC), Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC) are notable medical colleges in Chennai. thumb|right|The Government General Hospital Colleges for science, arts and commerce degrees are typically affiliated with the University of Madras, which has three campuses in the city; some colleges such as Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College,Pachaiyappa's College, Madras Christian College, Loyola College and The New College are autonomous. Research institutions like the prestigious Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), the Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI) and the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) are in the city. The Indian Army's Officers Training Academy is also based in the city. The Connemara Public Library is one of four National Depository Centres in India that receive a copy of all newspapers and books published in India. It has been declared a UNESCO information centre. There is a newly constructed Anna Centenary Library.

There are 15 Government hospitals and a large number of private hospitals which provide medical and health care. The Government General hospital, popularly referred to as the "G.H.", is the biggest government-run hospital in the city. There are many large private hospitals, among which many are multi-specialty hospitals. Some of India's well-known health care institutions such as Apollo Hospitals (the largest private health care provider in Asia), Sankara Nethralaya, Madras Medical Mission (MMM), Frontier Lifeline & K.M.Cherian heart foundation, MIOT Hospitals, Chettinad Health City and Sri Ramachandra Medical Centre are based in the city.

Sports

Cricket is the most popular sport in Chennai. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium (MAC) in Chepauk is one of the oldest cricket stadiums in India. The Chemplast Cricket Ground on the IIT Madras campus is another important venue hosting first class matches. Prominent cricketers from the city include former Test-captains S. Venkataraghavan and Kris Srikkanth. A cricket fast bowling academy, the MRF Pace Foundation, whose coaches include Bob Simpson and Dennis Lillee, is based in Chennai. Chennai is home to the Indian Premier League cricket team, the Chennai Super Kings, one of the most successful in the tournament.Chennai was also formerly the home to the Chennai Superstars part of the defunct Indian Cricket League.

The city also hosted 2011 IPL finals in M.A.Chidambaram stadium.

The city is home to a Premier Hockey League (PHL) team, the Chennai Veerans, and has hosted many hockey tournaments such as the Asia Cup and the Men's Champions Trophy at The Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. Chennai has produced popular tennis players over the years, including Vijay Amritraj, Ramesh Krishnan, Leander Paes, and Mahesh Bhupathi, and current star Somdev Devvarman also grew up primarily in the city. Since 1997 Chennai has been host to the only ATP World Tour event held in India, the Chennai Open, ATP World Tour 250 series, the country's only (ATP) event.

Football and athletic competitions are held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which also houses a multi-purpose indoor complex for competition in volleyball, basketball and table tennis. Water sports are played in the Velachery Aquatic Complex. Chennai was the venue of the South Asian Games (SAF Games) in 1995.

Automobile racing in India has been closely connected with Chennai since its beginnings shortly after independence. Motor racing events are held on a special purpose track in Irungattukottai, Sriperumbudur, which has also been the venue for several international competitions. Ex-Formula One driver and current Team Lotus reserve driver Karun Chandhok was born in Chennai.

Horse racing is held at the Guindy Race Course, while rowing competitions are hosted at the Madras Boat Club. The city has two 18-hole golf courses, the Cosmopolitan Club and the Gymkhana Club, both established in the late nineteenth century. Viswanathan Anand, the chess World champion, grew up in Chennai.

Other athletes of repute from Chennai include table tennis players Sharath Kamal and two-time world carrom champion, Maria Irudayam. The city has a rugby union team called the Chennai Cheetahs.

Sister cities

Chennai has sister city relationships with the following cities of the world.

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See also

Areas of Chennai

Notes

Footnotes

In December 2009, the Tamil Nadu government announced plans to merge 9 municipalities, 8 town panchayats, and 25 village panchayats into the city of Chennai, which would increase its area to 426 square kilometres and population (according to the 2001 census) to 5.6 million. The plans are that boundary of the expanded corporation will be drawn in 2011, after the term of the elected councillors ends. An ordinance was promulgated on 21 December 2010, amending the Madras City Municipal Corporation Act, giving effect to the total number of wards as 200. The corporation council is currently represented by 155 members.

Citations

Bibliography

External links

Official government website of Chennai District

Official website of the Corporation of Chennai

}} Category:Chennai District Category:Chennai railway division Category:Divisions of Indian Railways Category:Indian capital cities Category:Metropolitan cities in India Category:Populated coastal places in India Category:Port cities in India Category:Southern Railway (India) Zone

af:Chennai ar:تشيناي as:চেন্নাই bn:চেন্নাই be:Горад Чэнаі be-x-old:Чэнаі br:Chennai bg:Ченай ca:Chennai cs:Čennaj cy:Chennai da:Chennai de:Chennai et:Chennai es:Chennai eo:Ĉenajo eu:Chennai fa:چنای hif:Chennai fr:Chennai ga:Chennai gl:Chennai - சென்னை gu:ચેન્નઈ ko:첸나이 hi:चेन्नई hr:Chennai bpy:চেন্নাই id:Chennai os:Ченнай it:Chennai he:צ'נאי kn:ಚೆನ್ನೈ pam:Chennai sw:Chennai la:Chennai lv:Čennai lt:Čenajus hu:Csennaj ml:ചെന്നൈ mr:चेन्नई ms:Chennai mn:Ченнай nl:Madras ne:चेन्नई new:चेन्नई ja:チェンナイ no:Chennai nn:Chennai or:ଚେନ୍ନାଇ pnb:چنائی pl:Madras pt:Chennai ro:Chennai qu:Chennai ru:Ченнай sa:चेन्नै sco:Chennai simple:Chennai sl:Chennai szl:Madras sr:Ченај sh:Čenaj fi:Chennai sv:Chennai tl:Chennai ta:சென்னை te:చెన్నై th:เจนไน tr:Chennai uk:Ченнаї ur:چنائے vi:Chennai vo:Chennai war:Chennai wuu:Chennai zh:金奈

Name	Arvind Kejriwal
Birth date	June 16, 1968
Birth place	Hissar, Haryana
Movement	2011 Indian anti-corruption movement Right to Information Jan Lokpal Bill
Organization	Parivartan (परिवर्तन) Public Cause Research Foundation India Against Corruption
education	B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering
alma mater	IIT Kharagpur
Awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award
spouse	Sunita Kejriwal
children	2
Website	http://www.pcrf.in/ }}

Arvind Kumar Kejriwal () (born 16 June 1968) is an Indian social activist fighting for greater transparency in Government. He was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006, for activating India's Right to Information movement at grassroots and social activities to empower the poorest citizens to fight corruption by holding the government answerable to the people. Kejriwal is also a Saathi (fellow) of the Association for India's Development.

Early life

Arvind Kejriwal was born in a Marwari family in Hissar, Haryana in 1968. His father was an engineer and he spent most of his childhood living in small northern Indian towns like Sonepat, Mathura and Hissar. Kejriwal graduated from IIT Kharagpur as a Mechanical engineer in 1989.

Career

Kejriwal joined Tata Steel right after his graduation from IIT Kharagpur. Kejriwal quit his job with Tata Steel in 1992 and spent some time working with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, the Ramakrishna Mission in the North-East India and Nehru Yuva Kendra.

Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1995 and worked as an Additional Commissioner of Income Tax in Delhi. In January 2000, he took a sabbatical from work and founded Parivartan, a Delhi based citizens’ movement which works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. Thereafter, in February 2006, he resigned from the job, to work full-time at Parivartan. In December 2006, Kejriwal along with Manish Sisodia and Abhinandan Sekhri started Public Cause Research Foundation, which works for promoting better local self governance and RTI related campaigns

Right to Information

He along with Aruna Roy and others, campaigned for the Right to Information Act (RTI), which soon became a silent social movement, Delhi Right to Information Act was passed in 2001 and eventually at national level Indian Parliament passed the RTI in 2005. Thereafter, in July 2006, he spearheaded an awareness campaign for RTI across India. To motivate others Arvind has now instituted an RTI Award through his organisation. Kejriwal has been using RTI in corruption cases in many government departments including the Income Tax department, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, the Public Distribution System (PDS), the Delhi Electricity Board and others.

Jan Lokpal Bill

As a member of India Against Corruption (IAC) Kejriwal is an active participant in the movement for the enactment of Jan Lokpal Bill. He is considered a key figure along with social activist Anna Hazare. On August 16 2011, Key members of the India Against Corruption including Kejriwal were arrested, four hours before the planned indefinite hunger strike by Hazare. Rajan Bhagat, spokesman for Delhi Police, said police arrested Hazare under a legal provision that bans public gatherings and protests at the park in Delhi where Hazare was planning to begin his hunger strike. Activists were later released same day although they spent two more days in the Tihar jail negotiating conditions put on protest. Kejriwal left the jail on August 18 and the protests started the following day from Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. After twelve days of protests and many discussions between the government and the activists, Parliament passed a resolution to consider three points in drafting of Lokpal bill.

Personal Life

Kejriwal is married to Sunita, who is an IRS officer and his batchmate from National Academy of Administration in Mussoorie. They live just outside Delhi with their two children.

Awards

2004: Ashoka Fellow, Civic Engagement. 2005: 'Satyendra Dubey Memorial Award', IIT Kanpur for his campaign for bringing transparency in Government. 2006: Ramon Magsaysay Award for Eminent Leadership. 2006: CNN-IBN, 'Indian of the Year' in Public Service 2009: Distinguished Alumnus Award, IIT Kharagpur for Eminent Leadership. 2010: Policy Change Agent of the Year, The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence along with Aruna Roy.

Books

The Right to Information : Vyawharik Margdarshika - Co-Author - Vishnu Rajgadia, Published by Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi. in the year 2008.

Criticism in Media

Kejriwal has been criticized by few for being inflexible in the negotiations with government over Lokpal bill.

See also

Right to Information Act

Jan Lokpal Bill

India Against Corruption

2011 Indian anti-corruption movement

References

External links

'Parivartan' Official website

'Arvind Kejriwal' website

'Public Cause Research Foundation' Official website

'The Insurgent' by MEHBOOB JEELANI, The Caravan

Arvind Kejriwal Interview BBC Hindi

Arvind Kejriwal Interview BBC Hindi - Audio

Jaago Re! "Usse kuchh farak padega kya?": Arvind Kejriwal on fighting corruption in India

An Interview with Arvind Kejriwal

'Lokraj Andolan'

'India Against Corruption'

'Valmik Thapar Interviews Arvind Kejriwal'

Follow Jan Lokpal Bill Movement

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Indian activists Category:Indian civil servants Category:People from Haryana Category:Freedom of information activists Category:Ramon Magsaysay Award winners Category:Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur alumni Category:Indian revolutionaries Category:Activists by issue Category:Indian civil rights activists

hi:अरविंद केजरीवाल mr:अरविंद केजरीवाल ta:அரவிந்த் கெஜ்ரிவால்

Bender Bending Rodríguez, designated Bending Unit 22 and referred to as Bender, is a robot character in the animated television series ''Futurama''. He was created by series creators Matt Groening and David X. Cohen and is voiced by John DiMaggio. In the series, Bender plays the role of a comic anti-hero, and is described by Leela as an "alcoholic, whore-mongering, chain-smoking gambler". He was built in Mexico and other characters refer to his "swarthy Latin charm", though he does not even know how to speak Spanish. He is, per his own testimony, prejudiced against non-robots, often expressing an urge to "kill all humans" except his best friend, Fry; however, he has also committed acts of kindness for humans and others, suggesting he is not truly as belligerent as he claims.

Role in ''Futurama''

Bender serves as a member of Professor Farnsworth's delivery crew and as the ship's cook for the Planet Express ship. He is Fry's housemate and one of his closest friends, though the relationship is often one-sided. Bender is a heavy drinker, smoker, and gambler and has been referred to as "pure evil" by other characters, though is also something of a lovable rogue. Bender drinks in order to obtain the alcohol needed to fuel his power circuits, and, ironically, enters an inebriated-like state when he does not consume enough. The process produces waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch.

Bender often shows signs of sociopath-like behavior, as he is a pathological liar, and rarely shows empathy towards anyone. He has a mostly voluntary morality and constantly steals, ranging from the petty theft of wallets to much higher crimes like kidnapping Jay Leno's head due to their long feud and stealing Fry's blood. He also once stole Amy's earrings while giving her a hug. It was shown in "Roswell That Ends Well" that even in a disassembled state, his individual limbs carry on attempting to steal anything in proximity; the hand on his dismembered arm steals a wallet right out of a scientist's pocket before becoming inactive again.

Bender is a Bending Unit 22 model robot. Bender was built at a facility in Tijuana, Mexico by Mom's Friendly Robot Company, specifically for the task of bending metal girders for the construction of suicide booths (ironic as Bender twice attempts suicide using such booths later on). In Hermes's flashback in "Lethal Inspection", Bender is seen as a newborn with a baby-like body (also seen in "Teenage Mutant Leela's Hurdles") and though he is defective, Hermes is revealed to have approved Bender's inspection out of empathy and thus saved him; the episode also reveals that because of his defective lack of a backup unit, Bender is mortal, unlike other robots. In "Bendless Love", Bender is portrayed as built with his normal adult-sized body and memory of his birth. As Bender's memory of his birth is an adult form, it is possible what he remembered wasn't his birth, but a transfer to an adult body.Bender attended Bending State University, where he majored in Bending and minored in Robo-American studies. He was also a member of Epsilon Rho Rho, a robot fraternity, where he became something of a fraternity hero for his many shenanigans; one night he chugged an entire keg of beer, streaked across campus, and stuffed fifty-eight people into a telephone booth ("A lot of them were children."). While different creation processes have been shown, David X. Cohen stated that the viewer has only been shown Bender emerging from the machine that created him, while what happened inside the machine was not revealed. In "Rebirth", Bender's chassis is reconstructed from stem cells.

Character

Creation

The name Bender was chosen by series creator Matt Groening as a homage to the character John Bender from ''The Breakfast Club'' (although the name was later used in reference to his job of bending girders). There is also a significant similarity to the character in John Sladek's novel ''Tik-Tok'' (1983), whose title character is a robot that disobeys humans, calls them "meatfaces" (like Bender's "meatbags") and at one point even says:

"You can kiss my copper-plated ass!" "bite my metal shining ass" "bite my colossal metal ass"

The design for Bender went through multiple changes before reaching its final state. One of the decisions which Matt Groening found to be particularly difficult was whether Bender's head should be square or round. Initially he worked under the idea that all robots would have square heads in 3000; however, it was later decided that Bender's head should be round, a visual play on the idea that Bender is a "round peg in a square hole". Bender's antennae, which would have been positioned in place of his ears, were also changed to give him a more streamlined appearance. Groening later states in commentary for the episode Crimes of the Hot that the robot built by Professor Farnsworth in that episode is very similar to the original design for Bender.

Voice

When casting for ''Futurama'' , Bender's voice was the most difficult to cast, in part because the show's creators had not yet decided what a robot should sound like. Because of this, every voice actor who auditioned, no matter for what character, was asked to also read for Bender. After about 300 auditions, series co-creator David X. Cohen even attempted to audition after being told he sounded like a robot. John DiMaggio was eventually chosen for the role after his second audition. He originally auditioned using his Bender voice for the role of Professor Farnsworth and used a voice later used for URL the police robot for Bender. He describes the voice he got the part with as a combination of a sloppy drunk, Slim Pickens and a character his college friend created named "Charlie the sausage-lover". Casting directors liked that he made the character sound like a drunk, rather than an automaton. DiMaggio has noted that he had difficulty singing as Bender in "Hell Is Other Robots" because he was forced to sing the harmony part in a low key.

Design

As a bending unit, Bender is shown to have extraordinary strength, even bending unconventional objects including enormous steel girders marked "UN-BENDABLE", Professor Farnsworth's spine and even a vertical brick wall. Bender is shown to be extremely durable and strong, as he is able to break through solid objects, survive gunfire and explosions, and survive underwater and in magma (Suffering minor damage). Even when he is seemingly destroyed it has no effect on his personality, indicating that his "brain" is not stored in any particular location. He is also portrayed as a technologically advanced robot, with numerous features superfluous to his original purpose that appear at his will. As such, Bender is able to record video and audio; extend/retract/detach his arms, legs and eyes; project imagery; and use his head for a wide range of functions. Bender can also disassemble and reassemble his body at will, and each part can operate individually. In Bender Gets Made, Bender says he has a nose, but chooses not to wear it. Bender's chest cavity seems to store much more than is physically possible, often used to store heads in jars, small children, alcohol, and loot from a heist. On inspection of his body it is normally shown to be empty, though devices like the F-Ray reveal that he does have gears and other robotic components inside despite appearing hollow (and thus, giving another indication that his cavity is a pocket dimension).

Bender's metallurgical composition is occasionally mentioned, and he has inconsistently claimed in various instances to be some combination of 30% iron, 40% titanium, 40% lead, 40% zinc, 40% dolomite, 20% or 40% chromium, 40-50% osmium, 0.04% nickel, 60% storage space, 40% scrap metal and 40% lucky. His titanium composition is confirmed in A Head in the Polls, in which he sells his body during a titanium shortage. His dolomite composition is supported in Jurassic Bark when he survives a swim through a pool of magma, which the Professor suggested was only possible for objects made of this mineral. In A Pharaoh to Remember, Professor Farnsworth revealed that Bender has a .04% nickel impurity. In Attack of the Killer App, Third World workers stripping Bender for scrap claim that he is 40% chromium. He is described as made from an osmium alloy, which would then be somewhere in between 40 and 50%.

Other bending units such as Flexo show similar personality traits, though Flexo is not quite as "evil" as Bender. In the episode Mother's Day, Leela looks through a simulation of a bending unit's sight, which targets potential rubes and then denotes a plan to rob them and leave them in a ditch, showing that they are thieving and amoral by design. However a bending unit named Billy West is helpful and kind, though this unit lives as a farmer on the moon. Bender's serial number is 2716057. (This can be expressed as the sum of 2 cubes. Specifically, 952³ + (-951)³ with Flexo's serial number 3370318 = 119³ + 119³)

Personality

Bender is shown throughout the series as having a secret desire to be a folk musician that only manifests itself when a magnet is placed on/near his head. This desire is finally fulfilled in the episode "Bendin' in the Wind": an accident involving a giant can opener leaves Bender with a severely ripped-open chest and paralyzed from the neck down, and an encounter with Beck during his hospitalization leads to him becoming his lead washboard, and the two teaming for a musical tour that turns Bender into a folk hero for other broken robots, only for his career to end when he recovers from the damage.

Bender is also fascinated with cooking, being the Planet Express ship's chef, though he is shown to have no sense of actual human taste, in fact, his early dinners were so horrible that even the literally omnivorous Zoidberg couldn't eat it. In his first attempt, he creates a dinner for the crew that is so over-salted they all gag (which is aggrivated further when their drinks turn out to be salt water, or "Salt with water in it," as Bender puts it), then tells them that the food was fine since the salt content was 10% below a lethal dose (Dr. Zoidberg remarks that he "shouldn't have had seconds"). In "The Problem with Popplers", he creates dinner consisting of nothing but capers and baking soda, and mistakenly expresses the belief that humans eat rocks. He seems to improve his cooking skills over the series, cooking a lavish cake for Nibbler's birthday party and beating Elzar for the title of Iron Cook (though he uses a potion called "The Essence of Pure Flavor," consisting of water and a generous portion of LSD to make the judges hallucinate that his food tastes good). In ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'' he mistakingly bakes prison guards a cake with nutmeg thinking it was a natural human sleep drug, before being corrected by Amy that is in fact a baking drug.

Bender also states, "I've always wanted to break in to gooning." in the episode, "Bender Gets Made."

As a robot, Bender possesses an incredible amount of patience. In the series and movies, he is shown to wait over a thousand years in sand after his head is lost during a trip back in time to 1947, and many thousands of years in subterranean caverns under New York (Although on this occasion he was also in the presence of multiple alternate versions of himself that had previously made the same 'trip'). Despite the long wait, it is suggested that Bender does not power down, apparently enjoying his own company so much that he does not consider it necessary. However, in one episode, he shows next to no patience as a one time joke.

Bender's constant drinking stems from the fact that he needs booze to power his fuel cells; the process generates waste gases and heat, which he often expels as a flaming belch (although it is not always a belch). Although booze is thus a necessity for Bender rather than a vice, he apparently drinks far more than he requires, contributing to his characterization as an alcoholic ("Hell Is Other Robots" reveals that robots can function equally well on mineral oil instead of alcohol, also contributing to the perception of Bender's alcohol use as a vice). If Bender is deprived of alcohol, for instance during periods of depression, he ceases to function properly and shows signs similar to human drunkenness, including developing a rusty 5 o'clock shadow. As noted above, his disembodied head has survived for millennia with, presumably, no source of alcohol, so it may be that, when a mere head, Bender neither requires alcohol nor suffers from its absence.

In addition to consuming alcohol for energy, he also has a nuclear pile, as seen in "Godfellas". When he is sufficiently frightened or sickened, bricks fall from his backside (a reference to the slang "shitting bricks"), as seen in "Space Pilot 3000", ''The Beast with a Billion Backs'' and "Bendin' in the Wind". When sufficiently fascinated by something, he may pull out a camera and snap a picture, adding the catchphrase "Neat!" In addition to drinking, Bender also has an affinity for cigars. Unlike drinking alcohol for fuel, Bender tells Fry that he smokes cigars simply because they "make (him) look cool."

Despite being a robot, Bender has been seen to show emotion on many occasions, going so far as to shed a tear in "Crimes of the Hot", to the astonishment of Fry. One of the series' running jokes revolves around Bender having emotions, while technically he should be unfeeling. Bender is seemingly unaware of his emotions, stating in the episode "Anthology of Interest II" "I mean, being a robot's great but we don't have emotions and sometimes that makes me very sad". In his very first appearance, he tries to commit suicide via a suicide booth out of guilt for having unknowingly participated in creating suicide booths. Bender has also been known to be nonchalant to the point of appearing both uncaring and incredibly brave, even when faced with life-threatening situations.

Bender can perform many functions that are often regarded as exclusive to humans, such as whistling, snoring, having bloodshot eyes, crying, feeling at the least physical attraction, being tickled, dreaming, and belching. Despite these anthropomorphic characteristics, he can function in the vacuum of space, in the deep sea, or while submerged in lava for a short period. Bender is a classic narcissist, as seen in "The Farnsworth Parabox" when he seemingly falls in love with an alternate gold plated version of himself, stating that he has finally found someone "as great as me". In ''Bender's Big Score'' he converses with time-duplicates of himself under New New York in a limestone cavern for thousands of years because he is so in love with himself. Despite these human characteristics, Bender has no detectable soul, as seen in "Obsoletely Fabulous" when he passes through a 'soul detector' without an alarm sounding.

Bender's family is rarely seen in the show. It is known that his mother was an Industrial robot, however he often refers to Mom, the owner of the company that made him, as his mother. On several occasions he meets with another bending unit of the same manufacturer, Flexo, who looks and sounds exactly like him except for an arbitrary metal goatee. Flexo is later revealed to be the good twin despite the goatee, while Bender is the evil twin (an apparent twist on the classic ''Star Trek'' episode "Mirror, Mirror"). Bender also claims to have an identical cousin named Buster. It is also revealed that Bender has a young son who he willingly sent to Robot Hell in exchange for a robot army provided by the Robot Devil to get Fry's attention in ''The Beast with a Billion Backs''. He also has an Aunt Rita, a screw, however this is only mentioned in a dream-sequence of Leela's, and may not be true, and in ''Beast with a Billion Backs'', during the Deathball sequence, Bender claims his grandmother was a bulldozer. In "That Darn Katz!" Bender claims he has a cousin named Turner, who is apparently an expert in turning, hence the name. Bender also had an Uncle named Vladamir who passed away in ''The Honking'', whose son, Tandy, is by extension Bender's cousin.

Bender's relationships with the crew of Planet Express vary from person to person, although he treats nearly all biological organisms with disdain. The only one of his friends who he has openly shown affection for is Fry, his best friend and roommate. "Of all the friends I've had, (he is) the first." Although he is verbally and physically abusive towards Fry and considers him to be vastly inferior to himself, he has been shown to care for him a great deal. In "Jurassic Bark" he states that he loves Fry "the way a human loves a dog", and in "I Second That Emotion" when Bender gets jealous of Nibbler and flushes him down the toilet, a distraught Leela asks how he would feel if she did the same to Fry, effectively describing Fry as Bender's pet (Bender responds with an apathetic "Only one way to find out."). He routinely takes advantage of his friends, framing them for crimes, robbing them, stealing Fry's blood on more than one occasion, stealing Fry's power of attorney, using Fry's body to smash open a window, stealing jewelry from Amy, and using Zoidberg in various get-rich-quick schemes, although it is probable he does not consider Dr. Zoidberg a friend since in "Obsoletely Fabulous" Bender begged the 1X Robot to "save (his) friends and Zoidberg" (Though it is seen that he helps Zoidberg from time to time, as seen in "That's Lobstertainment!"). He even betrays Leela to Zapp when she becomes a wanted criminal out of jealousy of her steadily growing rap sheet in ''Into the Wild Green Yonder'', only to break her out of prison to make sure his own rap sheet is longer than hers. Although he regularly frustrates the group, they have demonstrated a certain affection for him as well; during "How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back" the entire crew travelled to the Central Bureaucracy to recover his brain after Morgan Proctor downloaded it onto a disc and sent it away, Hermes Conrad subsequently risking his bureaucratic license to locate the disc with Bender's brain on it by sorting the entire pile in just under four minutes. In this episode, when Amy asked why they had to fix him, after being met with a brief period of uncertain silence, Leela responded with "Those arguments aside, we're still going."

Despite his often criminal and immoral attitude, Bender is not free of a soft side; he can feel guilt and remorse over his actions if he goes too far, even for his patterns, indicating that he is not selfish or unkind as he appears to be. In fact, Bender intends to commit suicide in Space Pilot 3000 due to his role in the creation of suicide booths. In Bendless Love, Bender intends to get rid of Flexo in order to gain the love of a fembot (Angelyne), but when the latter gets stuck under a gigantic steel girder, Angelyne shows sorrow for him. Bender decides that her happiness is more important than his own and he ends up saving Flexo. Also in Jurassic Bark, when Bender becomes jealous of Fry's petrified dog, Seymour, he decides to throws it in magma. But when he realizes how Fry becomes deeply hurt, Bender apologizes for his misbehavior and in the finale, he saves the dog. And in Godfellas, he becomes a god of a microscopic alien race (the shrimpkins), and abuses his title by commanding them to produce beer for him. But when his abuse causes their death, Bender cries in mourning and remorse.

Bender is known for his catchphrase "Bite my shiny metal ass", which he uses nearly every episode throughout the series (it was even his very first line of dialogue in the pilot) and sometimes varying the phrase. Bender also has the catchphrases "We're Boned" and "Cheese it!" Also, when referring to himself, Bender frequently refers to himself in the first and third person.

He also is capable of calculating split-second timing while time-traveling as seen in Bender's Big Score where he is capable of calculating the exact second when he can appear from the underground cave, immediately after his counterpart has left for the past.

Due to complications in the episode "Roswell That Ends Well", Bender's head is 1055 years older than the rest of his body, and since "Bender's Big Score"- during which multiple versions of himself traveled back in time to as far back as Ancient Egypt before waiting out the intervening centuries in the stone caverns underneath Planet Express, Bender's age is many thousands or even possibly millions of years old, though he does at one point indicate that he is four. Another point is in the episode "The Late Philip J. Fry", Bender, Fry and the Professor travel to the year 10⁴⁰ AD twice meaning that it's been that long since Bender was built.

The ten most commonly used words in Bender's vocabulary are, in ascending order of frequency: Chump, Chumpette, Yours, Up, Pimpmobile, Bite, My, Shiny, Daffodil and Ass. A few of his least-often used words, as named by him, are: Please, Thanks, Sorry, Funderful, Non-alcoholic, Compassion, Shrimp-Toast, and Antiquing.

Reception and cultural influence

Bender (being the show's breakout character) has made several cameos in different episodes of ''The Simpsons'', another series by Matt Groening. Within ''The Simpsons'', Bender has appeared in episodes "Future-Drama", "Bart vs. Lisa vs. the Third Grade", "Missionary: Impossible". He also appears as one of the enemies, along with Doctor Zoidberg, in ''The Simpsons Game''.

In 2008, Bender took second place behind the Terminator in a poll for the "Baddest Movie Robot" on Techradar.com.

A reference to Bender is made as a cameo in the 2008 release of Firefox 3.0 and subsequent releases. When about:robots is typed into the address bar, the browser displays a page showing the Firefox robot and references to various pop culture robots, the last stating: "Robots have shiny metal posteriors which should not be bitten."

Bender also appears credited with his full name on the Special Thanks section in the ''Contra 4'' credits.

The song "Bend It Like Bender!" from the Devin Townsend Project album Addicted, is a direct reference to Bender, and contains the quote, "Game's over, losers! I have all the money!"

Bender is currently nominated for the Robot Hall of Fame.

Bender appeared as resident of the rough spaceport CSSB-16 in the comic story ''Wreckers Finale: Part 1'' by Fun Publications.

Bender appears as a welders mask in 52 as seen here.

Bender has a cameo appearance in the ''Family Guy'' episode "The Splendid Source", as one of the people who had heard and told a dirty joke whose original author Peter, Joe and Quagmire are seeking.

On the social networking site, MyYearbook, Bender is an emote on IM. Gender Bender is also an emote on IM. For the Bender Emote, you would put "(bender)" for the Bender emote and "(genderbender)" for the Gender Bender Emote.

In The Family Guy Star Wars Parody "Blue Harvest", Bender is seen in the background in the cantina scene.

References

Category:Futurama characters Category:Fictional characters from New York City Category:Fictional criminals Category:Fictional gamblers Category:Fictional con artists Category:Fictional professional thieves Category:Fictional robots Category:Fictional Mexican people Category:Fictional characters with superhuman strength Category:Fictional characters who have made pacts with devils Category:Fictional American people of Mexican descent Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1999

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Wilbur Sargunaraj(Born July 7, 1977) () is a performing artist from madurai, Tamil Nadu, South India. He is widely known as India's first YouTube sensation. He has racked up nearly 3.1 million views for his unique music and instructional videos. And he comes with the added promise of “Quality, First Class, Sargunaraj Trademark”.

What his videos lack in production sheen, they make up for in unabashed entertainment. He's been seen singing to “Mummy, Daddy” that he wants “the Love Marriage”, expounding the virtues of “Chicken 65”, and donning a Chennai Super Kings jersey to explain the rules of cricket, in rhyme, no less. Sargunaraj has also been touring the world with an aim of “making the common man extra-ordinary.” He is known for a series of 'How To' videos,'music' and he has released two albums:

''Wilbur Sargunaraj''

''Simple Superstar''

Wilbur has created a new music genre - what he calls Indo World Fusion. His music is a blend of Indian Music and Electronica. He has been influenced by such artists as Boney M and Michael Jackson. His songs are his way to promote cultural intelligence with various languages being heard in his track listing. Wilbur has a large following with fans from India, USA, UK, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia. He has performed in Canada, Indonesia, Singapore and will be touring of India, Australia, New Zealand, UK , Singapore and South East Asia in support of his second CD that has just been released (Simple Superstar).

Biography

Wilbur is from Madurai, Tamil Nadu South India. His father is from Tirunelveli district and his Mother is from Madurai district. During his childhood days Wilbur spent time in Darjeeling, Calcutta, Benares and Ootacamund before his family moved to Madurai city. Wilbur has studied privately with drummers in USA such as Long Island drummer Dom Famularo and Los Angeles Based percussionist Alex Acuna. He also studied in Havana, Cuba with drumming pioneer Giraldo Piloto. His love for Cricket made him compose songs such as CRICKET ( from the debut Album) and the CSK Rap. He is a strong supporter of the Chennai Super Kings and considers cricketer M.S Dhoni as a wonderful example in humility and leadership. He is also a huge fan of Pune Warriors Robin Uthappa as the two met at Wilbur's Bangalore concert in March 2011.

Humanitarian

Wilbur is a strong supporter of human rights and humanitarian issues. He has performed and organized numerous benefit concerts including workshops at the Children’s Shelter in Jakarta, Indonesia and orphanages in Kigali, Rwanda and Mumbai.

Discography

"Simple Superstar" full length LP (2011) "Stumped" Ashes Compilation by Universal Music Australia (2009)

Wilbur Sargunaraj Self Titled Debut Album (2009) :# Vannakam :# Love Marriage :# Mr. Melanin Man :# Blog Song :# Go Fly a Kite :# Cobra Cobra :# C-R-I-C-K-E-T :# Dance in Dubai :# First Class Meat :# Mark of a Man :# Wilbur dot asia :# Cobra Tanze (German Re-mixing) :# Hockey in Canada

External links

Indian singer serenades Rideau Canal, Canada (CBCNews)

Wilbur Sargunaraj on NDTV India: Simple Superstar Launch Chennai

Interview with Omni TV in Toronto, Canada

Interview on TV9 Bangalore

Wilbur Sargunaraj on Rogers TV, Canada

Love Marriage - The Highly Anticipated Video

See more information here about Wilbur Sargunaraj

References

"Let's make the common extraordinary". On page 6 of the May 19th issue of the Asian Voice weekly newspaper . by Spira Srivastava, 19 May 2011. "Simbble Sooperstar". On the Mumbai Mirror , posted by Mitall Parekh on 13 Mar 2011. "As simple as superstars get". Bangalor Mid-Day on-line news , March 2011. "Laugh Off". The online edition of India's National Newspaper - the Hindu , posted on 8 Mar 2011. "Viral Fever!". The online edition of India's National Newspaper - the Hindu , posted by Anusha Parthasarathy on 4 Mar 2011. "Wilbur: Making the Ordinary Extraordinary". The Sip of Life - Savour Everyday Flavour , posted on 19 Jan 2011. "He turns the common into the extraordinary". The Times of Oman , posted by Mrudu Naik, 10 Jan 2011. "Potty talk and other tips". The Times of India - The Crest Edition, Society pages , posted by Sharmila Genesan Ram, 25 Dec 2010. "Wilbur Spreads His Comedic Gospel of Love". The Jakarta Globe, life and times , on 23 June 2010. "Meet India's first YouTube star". E-paper Times of India , posted by Javed Anwer. "New star on the Net". Wilbur featured in Business Standard online news , posted by Asyush Soni, 21 March 2010. "'Love Marriage' Video Takes Hold on the Web". Music featured on The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, the Speakeasy , posted by Piyali Bhattacharya, 15 March 2010. "Roger Ebert tweets about Wilber". , posted by Roger Ebert, 27 Feb 2010 "Music, Motivation and the BPO". Interview with Techgoss.com, posted by Suneetha, 11 January 2010. "Please check my blog" song on CNN 's News to Me Blog, posted by Producer Grayson Thagard, January 2009.

Notes

Category:Living people Category:YouTube

playername	Sachin Tendulkar
country	India
fullname	Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar
nickname	Little Master, Tendlya, The God of Cricket
living	true
dayofbirth	24
monthofbirth	4
yearofbirth	1973
placeofbirth	Bombay (now Mumbai), Maharashtra
countryofbirth	India
heightft	5
heightinch	5
heightm	1.65
role	Batsman
oneit20	true
batting	Right-handed
bowling	Right-arm leg spin, off spin, medium pace
international	true
testdebutdate	15 November
testdebutyear	1989
testdebutagainst	Pakistan
testcap	187
lasttestdate	22 August
lasttestyear	2011
lasttestagainst	England
odidebutdate	18 December
odidebutyear	1989
odidebutagainst	Pakistan
odicap	74
odishirt	10
lastodidate	2 April
lastodiyear	2011
lastodiagainst	Sri Lanka
club1	Mumbai
year1	1988–present
club2	Mumbai Indians
year2	2008–present
club3	Yorkshire
year3	1992
columns	5
column1	Test
matches1	181
runs1	14,965
bat avg1	56.25
100s/50s1	51/61
top score1	248*
deliveries1	4,132
wickets1	45
bowl avg1	53.68
fivefor1	0
tenfor1	0
best bowling1	3/10
catches/stumpings1	108/–
column2	ODI
matches2	453
runs2	18,111
bat avg2	45.16
100s/50s2	48/95
top score2	200*
deliveries2	8,032
wickets2	154
bowl avg2	44.32
fivefor2	2
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	5/32
catches/stumpings2	136/–
column3	FC
matches3	285
runs3	23,884
bat avg3	59.26
100s/50s3	78/107
top score3	248*
deliveries3	7,497
wickets3	70
bowl avg3	61.54
fivefor3	0
tenfor3	0
best bowling3	3/10
catches/stumpings3	176/–
column4	LA
matches4	540
runs4	21,663
bat avg4	45.89
100s/50s4	59/113
top score4	200*
deliveries4	10,220
wickets4	201
bowl avg4	42.11
fivefor4	2
tenfor4	n/a
best bowling4	5/32
catches/stumpings4	171/–
date	22 August
year	2011
source	http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1933/1933.html CricketArchive }}

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket. In 2002, just 12 years into his career, Wisden ranked him the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one-day-international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. Tendulkar was an integral part of the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning Indian team at the later part of his career, his first such win in six World Cup appearances for India.

Tendulkar is the first and the only player in Test Cricket history to score fifty centuries, and the first to score fifty centuries in all international cricket combined; he now has 99 centuries in international cricket. On 17 October 2008, when he surpassed Brian Lara's record for the most runs scored in Test cricket, he also became the first batsman to score 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 runs in that form of the game, having also been the third batsman and first Indian to pass 11,000 runs in Test cricket. He was also the first player to score 10,000 runs in one-day internationals, and also the first player to cross every subsequent 1000-run mark that has been crossed in ODI cricket history. In the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, Tendulkar surpassed Australia's Allan Border to become the player to cross the 50-run mark the most number of times in Test cricket history, and also the second ever player to score 11 Test centuries against Australia, tying with Sir Jack Hobbs of England more than 70 years previously. Tendulkar passed 30,000 runs in international cricket on 20 November 2009. He also holds the world record for playing highest number of Test and ODI matches.Tendulkar has been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second highest civilian award, and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award, India's highest sporting honour. Tendulkar became the first sportsperson and the first person without an aviation background to be awarded the honorary rank of Group Captain by the Indian Air Force. He has received honorary doctorates from Mysore University and Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences He won the 2010 Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for cricketer of the year at the ICC awards.

Early years and personal life

Tendulkar was born in Bombay (now Mumbai). His mother Rajni worked in the insurance industry, and his father Ramesh Tendulkar, a Marathi novelist, named Tendulkar after his favourite music director, Sachin Dev Burman. Tendulkar's elder brother Ajit encouraged him to play cricket. Tendulkar has two other siblings: a brother Nitin, and sister Savita.

Tendulkar attended Sharadashram Vidyamandir (High School), where he began his cricketing career under the guidance of his coach and mentor, Ramakant Achrekar. During his school days he attended the MRF Pace Foundation to train as a fast bowler, but Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee, who took a world record 355 Test wickets, was unimpressed, suggesting that Tendulkar focus on his batting instead.

When he was young, Tendulkar would practice for hours on end in the nets. If he became exhausted, Achrekar would put a one-rupee coin on the top of the stumps, and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Tendulkar passed the whole session without getting dismissed, the coach would give him the coin. Tendulkar now considers the 13 coins he won then as some of his most prized possessions.

While at school, he developed a reputation as a child prodigy. He had become a common conversation point in Mumbai circles, where there were suggestions already that he would become one of the greats. His season in 1988 was extraordinary, with Tendulkar scoring a century in every innings he played. He was involved in an unbroken 664-run partnership in a Lord Harris Shield inter-school game in 1988 with friend and team mate Vinod Kambli, who would also go on to represent India. The destructive pair reduced one bowler to tears and made the rest of the opposition unwilling to continue the game. Tendulkar scored 326* in this innings and scored over a thousand runs in the tournament. This was a record partnership in any form of cricket until 2006, when it was broken by two under-13 batsmen in a match held at Hyderabad in India.

At 14, Tendulkar was a ball boy for the India versus Zimbabwe game at the Wankhede Stadium during the 1987 World Cup. When he was 14, former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar gave him a pair of his own ultra light pads. "It was the greatest source of encouragement for me," Tendulkar said nearly 20 years later after surpassing Gavaskar's world record of 34 Test centuries. On 24 May 1995, Sachin Tendulkar married Anjali, a paediatrician and daughter of Gujarati industrialist Anand Mehta and British social worker Annabel Mehta. They have two children, Sara (born 12 October 1997), and Arjun (born 24 September 1999). Anjali is six years his senior.

Philanthropy

Tendulkar sponsors 200 underprivileged children every year through Apnalaya, a Mumbai-based NGO associated with his mother-in-law, Annabel Mehta. A request from Sachin on Twitter raised through Sachin's crusade against cancer for the Crusade against Cancer foundation.

Early domestic career

On 11 December 1988, aged just 15 years and 232 days, Tendulkar scored 100 not out in his debut first-class match for Bombay against Gujarat, making him the youngest Indian to score a century on first-class debut. He followed this by scoring a century in his first Deodhar and Duleep Trophy. He was picked by the Mumbai captain Dilip Vengsarkar after seeing him negotiate Kapil Dev in the nets, and finished the season as Bombay's highest run-scorer. He also made an unbeaten century in the Irani Trophy final, and was selected for the tour of Pakistan next year, after just one first class season.

His first double century was for Mumbai while playing against the visiting Australian team at the Brabourne Stadium in 1998. He is the only player to score a century in all three of his Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Trophy debuts.

In 1992, at the age of 19, Tendulkar became the first overseas born player to represent Yorkshire Tendulkar played 16 first-class matches for the county and scored 1070 runs at an average of 46.52.

International career

Early career

Raj Singh Dungarpur is credited for the selection of Tendulkar for the 1989 Indian tour of Pakistan. Tendulkar played his first Test match against Pakistan in Karachi in 1989 aged just 16. He made just 15 runs, being bowled by Waqar Younis, who also made his debut in that match, but was noted for how he handled numerous blows to his body at the hands of the Pakistani pace attack. In the final test in Sialkot, he was hit on the nose by a bouncer, but he declined medical assistance and continued to bat even as he gushed blood from it. In a 20 over exhibition game in Peshawar, Tendulkar made 53 runs off 18 balls, including an over in which he scored 28 runs off Abdul Qadir. This was later called "one of the best innings I have seen" by the then Indian captain Kris Srikkanth. In all, he scored 215 runs at an average of 35.83 in the Test series, and was dismissed without scoring a run in the only One Day International he played.

The series was followed by a tour of New Zealand in which he scored 117 runs at an average of 29.25 in, Tests including an innings of 88 in the Second Test. He was dismissed without scoring in one of the two one-day games he played, and scored 36 in the other. On his next tour, to England in 1990, he became the second youngest cricketer to score a Test century as he made 119* at Old Trafford. Wisden described his innings as "a disciplined display of immense maturity" and also wrote: Tendulkar further enhanced his development during the 1991–1992 tour of Australia, that included an unbeaten 148 in Sydney and a century on a fast, bouncing pitch at Perth. Merv Hughes commented to Allan Border at the time that "This little prick's going to get more runs than you, AB."

Rise through the ranks

Tendulkar's performance through the years 1994–1999 coincided with his physical peak, in his early twenties. On the day of the Hindu festival Holi, Tendulkar was told to open the batting at Auckland against New Zealand in 1994. He went on to make 82 runs off 49 balls. He scored his first ODI century on 9 September 1994 against Australia in Sri Lanka at Colombo. It had taken him 79 ODIs to score a century.

Tendulkar's rise continued when he was the leading run scorer at the 1996 World Cup, scoring two centuries. He was the only Indian batsman to perform in the infamous semi-final against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar fell amid a batting collapse and the match referee awarded Sri Lanka the match after the crowd began rioting and throwing litter onto the field.

After the World Cup, in the same year against Pakistan at Sharjah, Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin was going through a lean patch. Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu both made centuries to set a record partnership for the second wicket. After getting out, Tendulkar found Azharuddin in two minds about whether he should bat. Tendulkar convinced Azharuddin to bat and Azharuddin subsequently unleashed 29 runs in mere 10 balls. It enabled India post a score in excess of 300 runs for the first time in an ODI. India went on to win that match.

This was the beginning of a period at the top of the batting world, culminating in the Australian tour of India in early 1998, with Tendulkar scoring three consecutive centuries. These were characterised by a premeditated plan to target Australian spinners Shane Warne and Gavin Robertson, to whom he regularly charged down the pitch to drive over the infield. This technique worked as India beat Australia. The test match success was followed by two scintillating knocks in Sharjah where he scored two consecutive centuries in a must-win game and then in finals against Australia tormenting Shane Warne once again. Following the series Warne ruefully joked that he was having nightmares about his Indian nemesis. He also had a role with the ball in that series, including a five wicket haul in an ODI. Set 310 runs to win, Australia were cruising comfortably at 3 for 203 in the 31st over when Tendulkar turned the match for India taking wickets of Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh, Darren Lehmann, Tom Moody and Damien Martyn for just 32 runs in 10 overs.

Tendulkar single-handedly won the ICC 1998 quarterfinal at Dhaka to pave way for India's entry into the semifinals, when he took four Australian wickets after scoring 141 runs in just 128 balls.

The inaugural Asian Test Championship took place in February and March 1999. Held just twice, the 1999 championship was contested by India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Eden Gardens hosted the first match, in which Tendulkar was run out for nine after colliding with Pakistan bowler Shoaib Akhtar. The crowd's reaction to the dismissal was to throw objects at Akhtar, and the players were taken off the field. The match resumed after Tendulkar and the president of the ICC appealed to the crowd, however further rioting meant that the match was finished in front of a crowd of just 200 people. Tendulkar scored his 19th Test century in the second Test and the match resulted in a draw with Sri Lanka. India did not progress to the final, which was won by Pakistan, and refused to participate the next time the championship was held to increasing political tensions between India and Pakistan.

A chronic back problem flared up when Pakistan toured India in 1999, with India losing the historic Test at Chepauk despite a gritty century from Tendulkar himself. The worst was yet to come as Professor Ramesh Tendulkar, Tendulkar's father, died in the middle of the 1999 Cricket World Cup. Tendulkar flew back to India to attend the final rituals of his father, missing the match against Zimbabwe. However, he returned with a bang to the World cup scoring a century (unbeaten 140 off 101 balls) in his very next match against Kenya in Bristol. He dedicated this century to his father.

Captaincy

Matches 25 73

Tendulkar's record as captain
	|	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	No result
Test	|	4	9	12	0	–
ODI	|	23	43	–	2	6

Tendulkar's two tenures as captain of the Indian cricket team were not very successful. When Tendulkar took over as captain in 1996, it was with huge hopes and expectations. However, by 1997 the team was performing poorly. Azharuddin was credited with saying ''"Nahin jeetega! Chote ki naseeb main jeet nahin hai!"'', which translates into: "He won't win! It's not in the small one's destiny!".

Tendulkar, succeeding Azharuddin as captain for his second term, then led India on a tour of Australia, where the visitors were comprehensively beaten 3–0 by the newly crowned world champions. Tendulkar, however, won the player of the tournament award as well as player of the match in one of the games. After another Test series defeat, this time by a 0–2 margin at home against South Africa, Tendulkar resigned, and Sourav Ganguly took over as captain in 2000.

Tendulkar remains an integral part of the Indian team's strategic processes. He is often seen in discussion with the captain, at times actively involved in building strategies. Former captain Rahul Dravid publicly acknowledged that Tendulkar had been suggesting moves such as the promotion of Irfan Pathan up the batting order which, although only temporary, had an immediate effect on the team's fortunes. In 2007, Tendulkar was appointed vice-captain to captain Rahul Dravid. During the Indian team's 2007 tour of England, Dravid's desire to resign from the captaincy became known. The BCCI President Sharad Pawar personally offered the captaincy to Tendulkar. However, Tendulkar asked Pawar not to appoint him captain, instead recommending Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take over the reins. Pawar later revealed this conversation, crediting Tendulkar for first forwarding the name of Dhoni, who since achieved much success as captain.

Injuries and apparent decline

Tendulkar continued performing well in Test cricket in 2001 and 2002, with some pivotal performances with both bat and ball. Tendulkar took three wickets on the final day of the famous Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001. Tendulkar took the key wickets of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, centurions in the previous test.

In the 2002 series in the West Indies, Tendulkar started well, scoring 79 in the first test, and 117 in the first innings of the second. Then, in a hitherto unprecedented sequence, he scored 0, 0, 8 and 0 in the next four innings, getting out to technical "defects" and uncharacteristically poor strokes. He returned to form in the last test scoring 41 and 86. However, India lost the series. This might have been the beginning of the "decline" phase in his career which lasted till 2006.

Tendulkar made 673 runs in 11 matches in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, helping India reach the final. While Australia retained the trophy that they had won in 1999, Tendulkar was given the Man of the Tournament award.

He continued to score heavily in ODI cricket that year, with two hundreds in a tri series involving New Zealand and Australia.

The drawn series as India toured Australia in 2003/04 saw Tendulkar making his mark in the last Test of the series, with 241* in Sydney, putting India in a virtually unbeatable position. He followed up the innings with an unbeaten 60 in the second innings of the test. Prior to this test match, he had had an unusually horrible run of form, failing in all six innings in the preceding three tests. It was no aberration that 2003 was his worst year in test cricket, with an average of 17.25 and just one fifty.

Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 194 against Pakistan at Multan in the following series. India declared before Tendulkar reached 200; had he done so it would have been the fourth time he passed the landmark in Tests. In meeting with the press that evening, Tendulkar stated that he was disappointed and that the declaration had taken him by surprise. Many former cricketers commented that Dravid's declaration was in bad taste. After India won the match, the captain Rahul Dravid stated that the matter was spoken internally and put to rest.

Tennis elbow then took its toll on Tendulkar, leaving him out of the side for most of the year, coming back only for the last two tests when Australia toured India in 2004. He played a part in India's victory in Mumbai in that series with a fast 55, though Australia took the series 2–1.

On 10 December 2005 at Feroz Shah Kotla, Tendulkar scored his record-breaking 35th Test century, against the Sri Lankans.

In the test series in Pakistan in 2006, Sachin failed to get going in all three innings despite the pitches being flat tracks. In the third of those three innings, he was bowled comprehensively after making 26, and ended up on all fours. This prompted The Times of India to publish an article entitled "Endulkar" in which TOI opined that Tendulkar's batting prowess had declined and his career had slid permanently.

On 6 February 2006, he scored his 39th ODI hundred, in a match against Pakistan. He followed with a run-a-ball 42 in the second one-day international against Pakistan on 11 February 2006, and then a 95 in hostile, seaming conditions on 13 February 2006 in Lahore, which set up an Indian victory.

On 19 March 2006, after scoring an unconvincing 1 off 21 balls against England in the first innings of the third Test in his home ground, Wankhede, Tendulkar was booed off the ground by a section of the crowd, the first time that he had ever faced such flak. Tendulkar was to end the three-Test series without a single half-century to his credit, and news of a shoulder operation raised more questions about his longevity. In July 2006, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that Tendulkar had overcome his injury problem following an operation and rehabilitation programme and was available for selection, and he was eventually selected for the next series.

Tendulkar's comeback came in the DLF cup in Malaysia and he was the only Indian batsman to shine. In his comeback match, against West Indies on 14 September 2006, Tendulkar responded to his critics who believed that his career was inexorably sliding with his 40th ODI century. Though he scored 141*, West Indies won the rain-affected match by the D/L method.

In the preparation for the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Tendulkar was criticised by Greg Chappell on his attitude. As per the report, Chappell felt that Tendulkar would be more useful down the order, while the latter felt that he would be better off opening the innings, the role he had played for most of his career. Chappell also believed that Tendulkar's repeated failures were hurting the team's chances. In a rare show of emotion, Tendulkar hit out at the comments attributed to Chappell by pointing out that no coach has ever suggested his attitude towards cricket is incorrect. On 7 April 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India issued a notice to Tendulkar asking for an explanation for his comments made to the media.

At the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies, Tendulkar and the Indian cricket team, led by Rahul Dravid had a dismal campaign. Tendulkar, who was pushed to bat lower down the order by the Greg Chappell had scores of 7 (Bangladesh), 57* (Bermuda) and 0 (Sri Lanka). As a result, former Australian captain Ian Chappell, brother of the then Indian coach Greg, called for Tendulkar to retire in his column for Mumbai's Mid Day newspaper.

During this period from about 2002 to 2006–7, Tendulkar's batting often seemed to be a shadow of its former self. He was inconsistent, and his big knocks mostly came in sedate, accumulative, uncharacteristic fashion. He seemed to have either cut out or lost the ability to play many shots, including the hook and pull and many other aerial strokes. He also developed a tendency to go without scoring much for long periods and become overtly defensive. While players such as Ponting and Kallis were at the peak of their careers, Sachin's seemed to be in terminal decline. There were several calls from him to retire too.

However after the 2007 World Cup, his career had a second wind and his consistency and form have returned.

Return to old form and consistency

In the subsequent series against Bangladesh, Tendulkar returned to his opening slot and was Man of the Series. He continued by scoring two consecutive scores of over 90 in the Future Cup against South Africa. He was the leading run scorer and was adjudged the Man of the Series.

On the second day of the Nottingham Test (28 July 2007) Tendulkar became the third cricketer to complete 11,000 Test runs. In the subsequent One day series against England, Tendulkar was the leading run scorer from India with an average of 53.42. In the ODI Series against Australia in October 2007 Tendulkar was the leading Indian run scorer with 278 runs.

Tendulkar was dismissed seven times in 2007 between 90 and 100, including three times at 99, leading some to suggest that he struggles to cope with nerves in this phase of his innings. Tendulkar has got out 23 times between 90 and 100 in his international career. On 8 November 2007 he got out on 99 against Pakistan in an ODI at Mohali to the bowling of Umar Gul caught by Kamran Akmal. In the fourth ODI, he got out on 97 (off 102 balls with 16 fours) after dragging a delivery from Umar Gul on to his stumps, falling short of another century in ODIs in 2007.

2007/08 tour of Australia

In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2007–08, Tendulkar showed exceptional form, becoming the leading run scorer with 493 runs in four Tests, despite consistently failing in the second innings. Sachin scored 62 runs in the first innings of the first Test at the MCG in Melbourne, but couldn't prevent a heavy 337-run win for Australia. In the controversial New Years Test at Sydney, Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 154 as India lost the Test. This was his third century at the SCG, earning him an average of 221.33 at the ground. In the third Test at the WACA in Perth, Sachin was instrumental in India's first innings score of 330, scoring a well compiled 71, as India went on to record a historic triumph at the WACA. In the fourth Test at Adelaide, which ended in a draw, he scored 153 in the first innings, involving in a crucial 126 run stand with V.V.S. Laxman for the fifth wicket to lead India to a score of 282 for 5 from 156 for 4. He secured the ''Player of the Match'' award.

In the One-Day International Commonwealth Bank Tri-Series involving Sri Lanka and Australia, Tendulkar became the first and only batsman to complete 16,000 runs in ODIs. He achieved this feat against Sri Lanka on 5 February 2008 at Brisbane. He started the CB series well notching up scores of 10, 35, 44 and 32, but could not convert the starts into bigger scores. His form dipped a bit in the middle of the tournament, but Tendulkar came back strongly in India's must-win game against Sri Lanka at Hobart, scoring 63 off 54 balls. He finished the series with a match winning 117 not out off 120 balls in the first final, and 91 runs in the second final.

Home series against South Africa

South Africa toured in March and April 2008 for a three-Test series. Tendulkar scored a five-ball duck in his only innings of the series; he sustained a groin strain in the match and as a result was forced not only to miss the second and third Tests, but also the tri-series involving Bangladesh, the 2008 Asia Cup, and the first half of the inaugural season of the IPL.

Sri Lanka Series

Before the touring Sri Lanka for three Test in July 2008, Tendulkar needed just 177 runs to go past Brian Lara's record of Test 11,953 runs. However, he failed in all six innings, scoring a total of just 95 runs. India lost the series and his average of 15.83 was his worst in a Test series with at least three matches.

Return to form and breaking the record

In the following ODI series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar was sidelined due to injury. However, during the following Australia tour of India, he returned to fitness and form, scoring 13 and 49 in the first test before making 88 in the first innings of the second test, thus breaking the record for most number of Test runs held by Brian Lara. He also reached the 12,000 run mark when he was on 61. He made a fifty in the third test and 109 in the fourth, as India won the series 2–0 and regained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

ODI and Test Series against England

Tendulkar was again out due to injury from the first three ODIs of a 7-match ODI series at home against England, but he made 11 in the fourth ODI and 50 in the fifth, before the ODI series was called off due to the Mumbai terror attacks, the scoreline being 5–0 to India.

England returned for a 2-match test series in December 2008, and in the first test in Chennai, chasing 387 for victory, Tendulkar made 103 not out in a 163-run unbroken fifth wicket stand with Yuvraj Singh. This was his third century in a fourth match innings, and the first which resulted in a win. This was redemption for the Chennai Test of 1999 when chasing 271 against Pakistan, Sachin had made 136 with severe back pain and was out 17 runs short of the target, precipitating a collapse and a loss by 12 runs. He dedicated this century to the victims of the Mumbai terror attacks. Tendulkar failed in both innings in the second test, India won the series 1–0.

2009–2010

In early 2009, India revisited Sri Lanka for five ODIs, as the Pakistan series had been cancelled due to the security situation in Pakistan and the attacks in Mumbai. Tendulkar failed to reach double figures in any inning, before becoming injured.

India's next assignment was an away series against New Zealand, consisting of three Tests and five ODIs. In the ODI series, Tendulkar made a 163 not out in the third match, an innings ended by stomach cramps that forced him to retire hurt. India made 392 and won easily and won the series 3–1. Tendulkar made 160 in the first test, his 42nd Test century, and India won. He made 49 and 64 in the second test and 62 and 9 in the third, in which India were prevented from winning by rain on the last day. India won the series 1–0.

Tendulkar rested himself for the ODI tour of West Indies, but was back for the Compaq Cup (Tri Series) between India, SL and New Zealand in early September 2009. He made 46 and 27 in the league matches before notching up 138 in the final, as India made 319 and won by 46 runs. This was Tendulkar's 6th century in ODI finals and his third consecutive score of over 50 in such finals. India has won all six times that Tendulkar has made a hundred in an ODI final.

Tendulkar played just one innings in the ICC Champions trophy in South Africa, scoring 8 against Pakistan as India lost. The next match against Australia was washed out and he was out with food poisoning in the third match against the West Indies, as India were eliminated.

Australia returned for a seven-match ODI series in India in October, and Tendulkar made 14, 4, 32 and 40 in the first four games. In the fifth match, with the series tied at 2–2, Australia amassed 350/4 in 50 overs. Tendulkar made his 45th ODI hundred, a 175 off 141 balls. Just when it seemed that he would steer India to the large victory target, he paddle-scooped debutant bowler Clint McKay straight to short fine leg, with India needing 19 from 18 balls with four wickets left. The Indian tail collapsed, and they lost by 3 runs, being all out for 347. During this match, Tendulkar also became the first player to reach 17,000 ODI runs, and achieved his personal best against Australia, as well as the third highest score in a defeat.

In the ODIs against Sri Lanka in 2009–10, Tendulkar scored 69, 43, 96 not out and 8, as India won 3–1.In the Test Series, he scored a 100 no out in the first test, which was drawn, and 40 in the second and 53 in the third test as India clinched innings victory in both tests. India won the series 2–0.

Sachin rested himself for the ODI tri-series in Bangladesh in 2010. In the Tests against Bangladesh, he made 105 not out and 16 in the first test, and 143 in the second. India won 2–0.

In the 2-Test Series against South Africa, Tendulkar made seven and 100 in the first test and 106 in the first innings of the second test. In the course of the second 100 (his 47th Test Hundred) he achieved several landmarks, in that he had scored four hundreds in his last four matches and that the hundred against South Africa in the first Test was the first at home against South Africa. The century was also his hundredth score over 50 in International Test cricket, moving him to 92 international hundreds (Tests and ODIs combined). In the second match of the subsequent ODI series, Tendulkar scored 200 not out and become the first person to score a double century in ODI cricket.

2011 World Cup and after

From February to April, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka hosted the 2011 World Cup. Amassing 482 runs at an average of 53.55 including two centuries, Tendulkar was India's lead run-scorer for the tournament; only Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka scored more runs in the 2011 tournament. India defeated Sri Lanka in the final. Shortly after the victory, Tendulkar commented that "Winning the World Cup is the proudest moment of my life. ... I couldn't control my tears of joy."

India were due to tour the West Indies in June, although Tendulkar chose not to participate. He returned to the squad in July for India's tour of England.

Indian Premier League and Champions League

Tendulkar was made the icon player and captain for his home side, the Mumbai Indians in the inaugural Indian Premier League Twenty20 competition in 2008. As an icon player, he was signed for a sum of US$1,121,250, 15% more than the second-highest paid player in the team, Sanath Jayasuriya.

In 2010 edition of Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians reached the final of the tournament. Tendulkar made 618 runs in 14 innings during the tournament, breaking Shaun Marsh's record of most runs in an IPL season. He was declared player of the tournament for his performance during the season. He also won Best Batsman and Best Captain awards at 2010 IPL Awards ceremony.

Sachin Tendulkar captained Mumbai Indians in 4 league matches of second edition of the league. He scored 68 in the first match and 48 against Guyana. But Mumbai Indians failed to qualify for semifinals after losing the initial two matches. Tendulkar scored 135 runs.

In the 2011 IPL, against Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Tendulkar scored his maiden Twenty20 hundred. He scored 100 not out off 66 balls. In 51 matches in the IPL Tendulkar has scored 1,723 runs, making him the second-highest run-scorer in the competition's history.

Style of play

Tendulkar is cross-dominant: He bats, bowls and throws with his right hand, but writes with his left hand. He also practices left-handed throws at the nets on a regular basis. Cricinfo columnist Sambit Bal has described him as the "most wholesome batsman of his time". His batting is based on complete balance and poise while limiting unnecessary movements and flourishes. He appears to show little preference for the slow and low wickets which are typical in India, and has scored many centuries on the hard, bouncy pitches in South Africa and Australia. He is known for his unique punch style of hitting the ball over square. He is also renowned for his picture-perfect straight drive, often completed with no follow-through. In 2008 Sunil Gavaskar, in an article he wrote in the AFP, remarked that "it is hard to imagine any player in the history of the game who combines classical technique with raw aggression like the little champion does".

Sir Donald Bradman, considered by many as the greatest batsman of all time, considered Tendulkar to have a batting style similar to his. In his biography, it is stated that "Bradman was most taken by Tendulkar's technique, compactness and shot production, and had asked his wife to have a look at Tendulkar, having felt that Tendulkar played like him. Bradman's wife, Jessie, agreed that they did appear similar." Former Australian cricket team coach John Buchanan voiced his opinion that Tendulkar had become susceptible to the short ball early in his innings because of a lack of footwork. Buchanan also believes Tendulkar has a weakness while playing left-arm pace. He was affected by a series of injuries since 2004. Since then Tendulkar's batting has tended to be less attacking. Explaining this change in his batting style, he has acknowledged that he is batting differently due to that fact that, firstly, no batsman can bat the same way for the entire length of a long career and, secondly, he is a senior member of the team now and thus has more responsibility. During the early part of his career he was a more attacking batsman and frequently scored centuries at close to a run a ball. Ian Chappell, former Australian player, remarked in 2007 that "Tendulkar now, is nothing like the player he was when he was a young bloke".

Tendulkar has incorporated several modern and unorthodox strokes into his repertoire in recent times, including the paddle sweep, the scoop over short fine leg and the slash to third man over the slips' heads, over the last seven or eight years. This has enabled him to remain scoring consistently in spite of the physical toll of injuries and a lean period in the mid-2000s. By his own admission, he does not bat as aggressively as he did in the 90s and early 2000s, because his body has undergone changes and cannot sustain aggressive shotmaking over a long period. He is often praised for his ability to adapt to the needs of his body and yet keep scoring consistently.

While Tendulkar is not a regular bowler, he can bowl medium pace, leg spin, and off spin with equal ease. He often bowls when two batsmen of the opposite team have been batting together for a long period, as he can often be a useful partnership breaker. With his bowling, he has helped secure an Indian victory on more than one occasion. He has taken 44 test match wickets and is the tenth highest wicket taker for India in ODIs.

Controversies

Mike Denness incident

In India's 2001 tour of South Africa in the second test match between India and South Africa at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth match referee Mike Denness fined four Indian players for excessive appealing as well as the Indian captain Sourav Ganguly for not controlling his team. Tendulkar was given a suspended ban of one game by Mike Denness in light of alleged ball tampering. Television cameras picked up images that suggested Tendulkar may have been involved in cleaning the seam of the cricket ball. This can, under some conditions, amount to altering the condition of the ball. The match referee Mike Denness found Sachin Tendulkar guilty of ball tampering charges and handed him a one Test match ban. The incident escalated to include allegations of racism, and led to Mike Denness being barred from entering the venue of the third test match. The ICC revoked the status of the match as a Test as the teams rejected the appointed referee. The charges against Tendulkar and Sehwag's ban for excessive appealing triggered a massive backlash from the Indian public.

Controversy over Ferrari import tax

In commemorating Tendulkar's feat of equalling Don Bradman's 29 centuries in Test Cricket, automotive giant Ferrari invited Tendulkar to its paddock in Silverstone on the eve of the British Grand Prix on 23 July 2002, to receive a Ferrari 360 Modena from the F1 world champion Michael Schumacher. On 4 September 2002 India's then finance minister Jaswant Singh wrote to Tendulkar telling him that the government will waive customs duty imposed on the car as a measure to applaud his feat. However the rules at the time stated that the customs duty can be waived only when receiving an automobile as a prize and not as a gift. It is claimed that the proposals to change the law (Customs Act) was put forth in Financial Bill in February 2003 and amended was passed as a law in May 2003. Subsequently the Ferrari was allowed to be brought to India without payment of the customs duty ( or 120% on the car value of ). When the move to waive customs duty became public in July 2003, political and social activists protested the waiver and filed PIL in the Delhi High Court. With the controversy snowballing, Fiat India agreed to pay the import duty.

Fan following

Tendulkar's entry into world cricket was very much hyped up by former Indian stars and those who had seen him play. Tendulkar's consistent performances earned him a fan following across the globe, including amongst Australian crowds, where Tendulkar has consistently scored centuries. One of the most popular sayings by his fans is "Cricket is my religion and Sachin is my God". Cricinfo mentions in his profile that "... Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world." During the Australian tour of India in 1998 Matthew Hayden said "I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests."

At home in Mumbai, Tendulkar's fan following is so great that he is unable to lead a normal life. Ian Chappell has said that he would be unable to cope with the lifestyle Tendulkar was forced to lead, having to "wear a wig and go out and watch a movie only at night". In an interview with Tim Sheridan, Tendulkar admitted that he sometimes went for quiet drives in the streets of Mumbai late at night when he would be able to enjoy some peace and silence. Tendulkar has a presence in the popular social networking site twitter with the user name sachin_rt since May 2010.

Business interests

Tendulkar's immense popularity has led him to be an early pioneer in India on cricket business dealings when he signed a record sports management deal with Worldtel in 1995, the value of the deal being over five years. His next contract with WorldTel in 2001 was valued at over five years. In 2006, he signed a contract with Saatchi and Saatchi's ICONIX values at over three years.

Tendulkar has opened two restaurants: ''Tendulkar's'' (Colaba, Mumbai) and ''Sachin's'' (Mulund, Mumbai) and Bangalore. Sachin owns these restaurants in partnership with Sanjay Narang of Mars Restaurants.

In 2007, Tendulkar also announced a JV with the Future Group and Manipal Group to launch healthcare and sports fitness products under the brand name 'S Drive and Sach'. A series of comic books by Virgin Comics is also due to be published featuring him as a superhero.

Commercial endorsements

Sachin Tendulkar has been sponsored by several brands throughout his career including Boost (1990–present), Pepsi (1992–2009), Action Shoes (1995–2000), MRF (1999–2009), Adidas (2000–10), Britannia (2001–07), Fiat Palio (2001–03), TVS (2002–05), ESPN Star Sports (2002–present), Sunfeast (2007–13), Canon (2006–09), Airtel (2004–06), Reynolds (2007–present), G-Hanz (2005–07), Sanyo BPL (2007–present), Colgate-Palmolive, Philips, VISA,Castrol India (2011–12), Ujala Techno Bright and Coca-Cola (2011–13)

He has also been a spokesperson for National Egg Coordination Committee (2003–05), AIDS Awareness Campaign (2005) and Luminous India (2010–present)

Biographies

Sachin Tendulkar has been the subject of various books. The following is the listing of books focused on Tendulkar's career:

''Sachin: The Story of the World's Greatest Batsman'' by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-0-14-302854-3 ''The A to Z of Sachin Tendulkar'' by Gulu Ezekiel. Publisher: Penguin Global. ISBN 978-81-7476-530-7 ''Sachin Tendulkar-a definitive biography'' by Vaibhav Purandare. Publisher: Roli Books. ISBN 81-7436-360-2 ''Sachin Tendulkar – Masterful'' by Peter Murray, Ashish Shukla. Publisher: Rupa. ISBN 81-7167-806-8 ''If Cricket is a Religion, Sachin is God'' by Vijay Santhanam, Shyam Balasubramanian Publisher: HarperCollins India ISBN 978-81-7223-821-6

Career achievements

Sachin Tendulkar is the most prolific run scorer in one-day internationals with runs. With a current aggregate of Test runs, he surpassed Brian Lara's previous record tally of 11,953 runs as the highest run scorer in test matches in the second Test of Australia's 2008 tour of India in Mohali. Tendulkar described "It is definitely the biggest achievement in 19 years of my career" on the day he achieved the record. He also holds the record of highest number of centuries in both Test (51) and ODI cricket (). Throughout his career, he has made a strong impact on Indian cricket and was, at one time, the foundation of most of the team's victories. In recognition with his impact on sport in a cricket-loving country like India, Tendulkar has been granted the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, Arjuna Award, Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan by the Government of India. He was also chosen as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1997 and is ranked by the Wisden 100 as the second best test batsman and ODI batsman of all time.

Tendulkar has also consistently done well in Cricket World Cups. Tendulkar was the highest run scorer of the 2003 Cricket World Cup and 1996 Cricket World Cup. After his century against England during group stages of 2011 Cricket World Cup, he became the player to hit most number of centuries in Cricket World Cups with six centuries and the first player to score 2000 runs in World Cup cricket. Tendulkar has scored over 1000 runs in a calendar year in ODIs 7 times, and in 1998 he scored 1894 runs, easily the record for the highest number of runs scored by any player in a single calendar year for one day internationals. Tendulkar is also one of the very few players who are still playing in international cricket from the 1980s. On 24 February 2010, Tendulkar broke the previous world record for highest individual innings in an ODI, and became the first male cricketer to score a double-century in one-day cricket. He made 200 runs and broke the previous record of 194 runs, jointly held by Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar and Zimbabwe's Charles Coventry.

He has been Man of the Match 13 times in Test matches and Man of the Series four times, out of them twice in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. The performances earned him respect from Australian cricket fans and players. Similarly he has been Man of the Match 60 times in One day International matches and Man of the Series 14 times.

Individual honours and appreciations

ICC Award-Sir Garfield Sobers trophy for cricketer of the year 2010

Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award, 2008.

ICC World ODI XI: 2004, 2007

Rajiv Gandhi Awards – Sports: 2005

Player of the tournament in 2003 Cricket World Cup

Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Maharashtra State's highest Civilian Award in 2001 Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, 1999 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, India's highest honour given for achievement in sports, 1997–98.

Wisden Cricketer of the Year: 1997

Arjuna Award, by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding achievement in sports, 1994. In October 2010 he was awarded for Outstanding Achievement in Sport and the Peoples Choice Award at The Asian Awards in London On 28 January 2011, he won the 'Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year' award. 'BCCI Cricketer of the Year' award on 31 May 2011 On 3 September 2010 he was made a Honorary Group captain by the Indian Air Force

See also

List of International cricket centuries by Sachin Tendulkar

Indian national cricket captains

List of One-day International records

References

Further reading

External links

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Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Indian cricket captains Category:India One Day International cricketers Category:Indian Test captains Category:India Twenty20 International cricketers Category:Indian cricketers Category:India Test cricketers Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Wisden Leading Cricketers in the World Category:West Zone cricketers Category:Mumbai cricketers Category:Yorkshire cricketers Category:World Cup cricketers of India Category:Cricketers at the 1992 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1996 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2007 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 2011 Cricket World Cup Category:Cricketers at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Recipients of the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Category:Marathi people Category:People from Mumbai Category:Indian Hindus Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Mumbai (Indian Premier League) cricketers Category:Recipients of the Arjuna Award Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Indian Air Force officers

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