A temple in Duttabad performed a puja on July 8 that was for neither a deity nor a saint. Although cricket buffs would argue it was for the god of the offside. Sourav Ganguly’s 50th birthday was celebrated in Duttabad in the form of a puja at Shibangan temple, opposite Apollo Hospitals. Organised by former councillor Nirmal Dutta and his wife, the current councillor Alo Das Dutta, the puja was thronged by Dada’s fans, young and old.
“Shob shomoy rajniti bhalo lage na,” said Dutta, who took the initiative as he wanted to organise something “non-political”.
The Eden Gardens clubhouse decorated with a banner wishing Sourav Ganguly on his 50th birthday. PTI
“Cricket is a great unifier and today everyone came to celebrate Dada’s birthday regardless of political affiliation.” Fans held up Ganguly’s photographs and the national flag as the priest chanted mantras and Dutta repeated them after him.
A fruit-flavoured cake had been ordered with icing of bat, ball and a birthday wish to the former skipper of the Indian cricket team. Dutta cut the first piece and offered it to Sourav’s picture. It was then distributed to the 130-odd children who had come. The kids also played a game of cricket in the ground next door. Shibangan was built last year and Sourav happened to be the second celebrity whose birthday was performed here in the form of a puja. The first was Sachin Tendulkar, whose birthday was celebrated in April.
“Both Sachin and Sourav are the pride of our nation, Sourav more so as he is from our state. I’m a great fan of his and remember nursing a broken heart when he led India to the World Cup final in 2003, but lost. But then he brought us such satisfaction when he took off his shirt and waved it at Lord’s after the victory over England (in Natwest Trophy, 20 years ago on July 13),” said Dutta.
Sourav Ganguly.
Scent of Sourav elsewhere
That our neighbourhood is full of Sourav fans is clear from the fact that we have two Sourav Abasans in Salt Lake — one behind Karunamoyee and another next to Baisakhi. “Not only is our complex named after Sourav but the cricketer had also come for its inauguration in the early 2000,” says Anindita Sil, a resident of the ED complex behind Karunamoyee. Rajarhat has a street named after the southpaw and again, Sourav himself had come for the opening of the street near Derozio Memorial College.