If the Maidan is the evergreen lungs to the quintessential soul of the city, the many canteens that are a part of the sports club tents that dot the landscape serve as a lifeline to many.

The canteens cater to a motley range of people — players, athletes, the fans, office-goers and even the jobless. The menus vary, barring a few regular items like the chicken/mutton stew and butter toasts. But whether it is the more exotic fish fry or the easy-for-pocket ghugni, food from these canteens, as regulars would vouch, always tastes different.

But as in all other spheres of life, Covid-19 has affected the Maidan canteens as

well, perhaps like never before. To put it simply, the fear of the virus has shut down the canteens.

In non-pandemic times, this time of the year would have meant the onset of the city’s football season. An afternoon of football always melted into an evening of toast, ghugni, tea and hot debates over a wrong off-side decision at many of these canteens. But this time it’s different.

“This is usually our peak season. Our daily sales at this time would be around Rs 15,000, which can go up to Rs 30,000 on match days, thanks to the football crazy crowd,” Palash Mukherjee, better known as “Kajuda”, of the Mohun Bagan canteen told The Telegraph.

Besides the Bagan canteen, Mukherjee oversees two other outlets on the Maidan. Asked how tough has life been in the last few months, he said: “Income for the last few months has been nil. It’s a huge financial burden and our future is totally uncertain. I have 10 staff members at the Bagan canteen and 14 others in the other two places. I have to take care of them.

“The club has been very helpful though... They have been periodically clearing the dues and that has helped me survive this testing phase. I have been helping out the boys who work under me from that money. There are people

who have been working with me for 20-30 years... It’s my duty to ensure that they too survive this period. It’s not just about me getting food for my family, I have to take care of a bigger family.”

The ‘Shakti-Gopal Canteen’ that is housed at Eden Gardens doesn’t cater that much to football fans, but its troubles are almost similar.

“Eight persons work at our canteen... We have paid them salaries during this lockdown period. For that, we have used our personal savings as well. With no income for the past few months, life has been very difficult. The CAB, of course, has helped us, clearing some of the dues,” said Gopal Bhuniya of the Eden canteen.

The most popular canteen in the Maidan area, however, is not associated with any sports club, though many players, staff and fans swear by their fish diamond fry and chicken stew. It’s ‘Chitto Babur Dokan’ in Dacres Lane — now known as James Hickey Sarani — that has been serving some of the best delicacies the city has to offer since the 1940s. But they too are struggling to dodge the pandemic blues.

“We are partially functioning for the last week or so, but business has never been worse. If earlier we sold 400 units of a certain dish, we are not even managing to sell 100 now. We have excluded the mutton items and biryani from our menu to cut losses. We are taking all possible precautions while serving food, sanitising the shop frequently and using disposable containers, but even then most people are not convinced. I don’t blame them, the fear of death does that to you,” was how Samir Roy of ‘Chitto Babur Dokan’ explained their ordeal.

While Mukherjee of Bagan thinks he can manage things for six more months if the canteen remains shut, Bhuniya is not that confident. He wants to return to the Eden canteen as soon as possible.

Besides the loss in business, what they miss more, however, is the love of the thousands that they have earned over the years. “It is not just the canteen, it’s a big family… People from all over Bengal — from Asansol, Durgapur, Jhargram, Midnapore — call me, enquiring about my well-being,” said Mukherjee.

Bhuniya said: “I miss my canteen… Without it, it seems like I have been paralysed.”

And it’s not just about their food. Try their stories sometime. Mukherjee will tell you how he used to serve Horlicks to a kid Sourav Ganguly every day after practice and Bhuniya will get emotional while recounting the humility of Wriddhiman Saha, who touched his feet to seek blessings after being picked for the Indian team for the first time.

One hopes to see the

Maidan canteens at the other end of the pandemic. Where else would you get such priceless platefuls?