Worship of cricket’s “little master,” Sachin Tendulkar, is set to cross a new boundary as a luxury book publisher brings out a special edition of his autobiography made with the batsman’s blood.
Only for the most dedicated of fans, the “blood edition” of the Tendulkar Opus, which also includes unpublished family pictures and Tendulkar’s thoughts about his career, weighs 37kg and stretches to 852 pages edged in gold leaf, costing US$75,000. 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,” publisher Kraken Media’s chief executive Karl Fowler said.
“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?” he said.
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 2m gatefold in the book. “What you’ll be looking at is his genetic makeup,” Fowler said.
All proceeds from the sale of the 10 copies will go to Tendulkar’s charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai.
Kraken will also publish around 1,000 copies of a cheaper edition of the autobiography at US$2,000 to US$3,000. Signed by Tendulkar, this edition will contain around 75 percent previously unpublished material about the cricketing star, as well as his DNA profile — but not his blood.
It is also releasing a US$200-US$300 smaller edition of the book.
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