/ 26 July 2010

Essential bleeding for blood suckers

Worship of cricket’s “little master”, Sachin Tendulkar, will cross a new boundary with a special edition of his autobiography made in part with the batsman’s blood.

Only for the most dedicated of fans, the “blood edition” of the Tendulkar Opus includes previously unpublished family pictures and Tendulkar’s thoughts about his career, weighs 37kg, measures half a metre square and stretches to 852 pages edged in gold leaf, and will cost $75 000. Out next February, only 10 copies are being printed and they have all already been pre-ordered.

“The signature page will be mixed with Sachin’s blood — mixed into the paper pulp so it’s a red resin. It is what it is — you will have Sachin’s blood on the page,” said Karl Fowler, publisher Kraken Media’s chief executive.

“It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it’s not to everyone’s taste and some may think it’s a bit weird. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar to millions of people is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible?”

As well as taking blood from the cricketer, Kraken asked for a sample of his saliva and used this to create his DNA profile, which will be printed on a two-metre gatefold in the book. “What you’ll be looking at is his genetic make-up,” said Fowler.

All proceeds from the sale of the 10 copies will go to Tendulkar’s charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai. “We’re publishing next February, in time for the cricket World Cup, which is being held in India. It’s perfect timing,” said Fowler. — Guardian News & Media