Tales from Bengal : Part 1, The Kolkata Derby
Bengal is well known for its love for culture, scrumptious dishes, sweet spongy rosagollas, city-choking traffic-stopping agitations and the quintessential love for a "cha - sigarete" !!! I have heard many of my friends from school and college comment on the innate "sweetness" of Bengalis and make a jolly-joke about the later's love for fish! Overall, this oddly-shaped state of India commands an identity, unlike many, and recognized globally.
However, in this now-teenage century i.e. the 21st century, much of the narrative i.e. West Bengal aka Bengal aka Poschim Bongo is on the verge of being forgotten. In the psyches of the millenial generation of India, it is a state of unruly left-liberals, now led by a leader known for her protean temper and idiosyncratic demeanor. Many remember with angst the expulsion of TaTa Motors from Singur (2008) and the infamous bandh-culture, ingrained in the state's political motif. Indians from other parts of the country refer to the state as the "killing ground of industries". A dive into the depths of the world-wide web led me to discover a factual treatise on the subject by Subhash C Ray named "The Political Economy of Decline of Industry in West Bengal: Experiences of a Marxist state in a Mixed Economy". The paper mentions: "Over the years 2001-2006 there were 152 strikes and 2,266 lockouts"... and further goes on to describe the state as an "industrial wasteland"!! Apart from the above article, one can find a plethora of literature on the state economy, with emphatic references to "34 years of Communist rule" and poor work culture. Thus, the impression that Bengal has come to beget is perhaps deserving.
Even as I write this piece, trapped in my humble home by the Covid-19 lock-down mandate, news channels are broadcasting coverage on the untimely, unwarranted, aspersive altercation between opposing political factions of the state. Stories of how people are not abiding to lock-down rules and how the state is involved in shady cover-ups of corona cases are circulating across the internet, no doubt, maligning the image of Bengal and Bengalis. I am not in any position to comment on the authenticity or inaccuracy of the former, but being a true-blue bong, it saddens me that things have come to this.
However, I intend to take a detour from this single-minded strain of narrative and delve into other aspects of Bengal-ism... something that might raise a few eyebrows and coax a few happy smiles, much needed in this time of seemingly endless trouble. Through a series of blogs, I would love to share with the readers tales from this land.
Many football fans of today's India are ardent followers of European clubs like Barcelona and Arsenal (fans of Real Madrid, ManU and Liverpool..please don't take offense). They cheer vehemently for their clubs, donning jerseys, gulping gallons of beer and displaying infectious affection. Innumerable videos of Messi's unworldy feats (yes.. i am a Messi fan!!) crowd YouTube feeds. Yet, there used to be a time in the late twentieth century, during my school days, when the sports section of the newspaper extensively carried scores and match coverage from the desi soccer scene. I faintly remember some names ...Churchill Brothers FC, Dempo FC, Salgaoncar FC, Mohun Bagan FC ... East Bengal FC. The scene was real and pretty lively....pre-season fights to sign the best foreign forward, violent clashes in the audience after match, wild parties on the streets of Kolkata after the "Boro match" or the Derby... yes, our very own derby with a 91 year legacy - Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal, the then best clubs in the Indian football scene. The fight of the green-maroon vs the red-yellows represented much more than just football; it was a clash of identities - the native ghotis vs the alien batis, a clash of piscine preferences in cuisine - the hilsha vs the prawn!! The derby result would determine whether the hilsha or the prawn will rule the fish market the following morning. The vista of the Salt Lake stadium aka Yuva Bharati Krirangan, donned in the colors of red-yellow, maroon-green was indeed a bewildering spectacle; the stadium becoming the cynosure for die-hard fans, who arrive from distant districts in buses and cars and trains.
Perhaps, not many know that Mohun Bagan, India's first soccer club, defeated East Yorkshire FC in 1911 to win the I league, fueling a sense of victory in the Indian conscience, even as the nation notched up its struggle for independence from British rule. The story of this win, with part time players competing barefoot against the pro-team of the colonists, is nothing short of spine-chilling and super-inspirational. However, those days are now far forgotten in public memory. The football mania living in the Bengali conscience only gets awakened every four years during the FIFA world club, with lanes painted yellow-green or blue-white (our favourite two soccer nations, Brazil & Argentina) and foreign flags displayed hither-thither. As the great players of their generations like Chuni Goswami, PK Banerjee, etc. live out their lives, not too many remain to vouch for the golden days of Bengal's football. The world has moved on to mobile games and privately owned teams in super-leagues.... uncombed little playgrounds in towns and villages sacrificed for real estate development, those days of barefoot adolescent's soccer with half-strength teams on muddy fields, under the monsoon rain are perhaps lost forever.
However, in this now-teenage century i.e. the 21st century, much of the narrative i.e. West Bengal aka Bengal aka Poschim Bongo is on the verge of being forgotten. In the psyches of the millenial generation of India, it is a state of unruly left-liberals, now led by a leader known for her protean temper and idiosyncratic demeanor. Many remember with angst the expulsion of TaTa Motors from Singur (2008) and the infamous bandh-culture, ingrained in the state's political motif. Indians from other parts of the country refer to the state as the "killing ground of industries". A dive into the depths of the world-wide web led me to discover a factual treatise on the subject by Subhash C Ray named "The Political Economy of Decline of Industry in West Bengal: Experiences of a Marxist state in a Mixed Economy". The paper mentions: "Over the years 2001-2006 there were 152 strikes and 2,266 lockouts"... and further goes on to describe the state as an "industrial wasteland"!! Apart from the above article, one can find a plethora of literature on the state economy, with emphatic references to "34 years of Communist rule" and poor work culture. Thus, the impression that Bengal has come to beget is perhaps deserving.
Even as I write this piece, trapped in my humble home by the Covid-19 lock-down mandate, news channels are broadcasting coverage on the untimely, unwarranted, aspersive altercation between opposing political factions of the state. Stories of how people are not abiding to lock-down rules and how the state is involved in shady cover-ups of corona cases are circulating across the internet, no doubt, maligning the image of Bengal and Bengalis. I am not in any position to comment on the authenticity or inaccuracy of the former, but being a true-blue bong, it saddens me that things have come to this.
However, I intend to take a detour from this single-minded strain of narrative and delve into other aspects of Bengal-ism... something that might raise a few eyebrows and coax a few happy smiles, much needed in this time of seemingly endless trouble. Through a series of blogs, I would love to share with the readers tales from this land.
The Kolkata Derby: tale of forgotten football mania
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| The Mohun Bagan team of 1911 |
Many football fans of today's India are ardent followers of European clubs like Barcelona and Arsenal (fans of Real Madrid, ManU and Liverpool..please don't take offense). They cheer vehemently for their clubs, donning jerseys, gulping gallons of beer and displaying infectious affection. Innumerable videos of Messi's unworldy feats (yes.. i am a Messi fan!!) crowd YouTube feeds. Yet, there used to be a time in the late twentieth century, during my school days, when the sports section of the newspaper extensively carried scores and match coverage from the desi soccer scene. I faintly remember some names ...Churchill Brothers FC, Dempo FC, Salgaoncar FC, Mohun Bagan FC ... East Bengal FC. The scene was real and pretty lively....pre-season fights to sign the best foreign forward, violent clashes in the audience after match, wild parties on the streets of Kolkata after the "Boro match" or the Derby... yes, our very own derby with a 91 year legacy - Mohun Bagan vs East Bengal, the then best clubs in the Indian football scene. The fight of the green-maroon vs the red-yellows represented much more than just football; it was a clash of identities - the native ghotis vs the alien batis, a clash of piscine preferences in cuisine - the hilsha vs the prawn!! The derby result would determine whether the hilsha or the prawn will rule the fish market the following morning. The vista of the Salt Lake stadium aka Yuva Bharati Krirangan, donned in the colors of red-yellow, maroon-green was indeed a bewildering spectacle; the stadium becoming the cynosure for die-hard fans, who arrive from distant districts in buses and cars and trains.
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| East Bengal : Bong madness in Red & Yellow pic from : indianexpress archives |
Well written 👍😊
ReplyDeleteGood one Sir....
ReplyDeleteAwesome. Sir.
ReplyDeleteWell written Dhruba. Esp. liked the last part about our vanishing open space and usurping of barefoot football with video games
ReplyDeleteThanks Dada!!!
DeleteVery well written! Made my to rewind to the young days and many memories of Baliganj and Naval Colony..
ReplyDeleteThe state has many memories close to heart...
Thanks yo... That is the very motive.. to create something that readers can identify with
DeleteBah awesome bhai.
ReplyDeleteIt's written from heart.. I don't know why but there is something I felt too deep and connected in your writing.