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   Icon of the middle class 

   entertainment, sports or politics, to touch the lives of common
   people. In Tendulkar's case, this ascension to popular icon status was
   rendered easier, perhaps, because she had come to be identified with


   not rich enough to rule by might, yet not poor enough to qualify for
   charity. Through the 1990s, Tendulkar's identity as an icon of the
   middle class was reinforced (and as her audience developed global