Dada, Kolkata and the madness of it all

When Sourav Ganguly was playing for India, he would hold two press conferences – one official, for the national media, and the other, unofficial, for the Bengali media. The contents of both press conferences would be very different – the national and international media was given ‘safe’ answers while the Bengali press would get a lot more ‘details.’ No other Indian skipper, before or after, has done anything like that. Not Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble or Mahendra Singh Dhoni. In Dada’s age, the Bengal lobby was strong. Of course, they also had Jagmohan Dalmia to help them along. But Dada was the heart and the mind of Indian cricket – everyone wanted to know what he was thinking. It wasn’t odd to see a posse of Bengali journalists waiting in the lobby of the team hotel – just to get that one Dada quote that would help their stories make it to the front pages of their respective newspapers. A Ganguly exclusive was high on the priority list of every reporter. If you were close to Dada, it meant foreign tours and plum assignments. If you weren’t, it meant Ranji Trophy. [caption id=“attachment_299607” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Dada’s back in Kolkata and don’t we know it. AFP”]  [/caption] So, in a way, the emotional connect that almost every Bengali feels for Dada has been cultivated as well. It’s not all heart; it’s not just admiration but the result of a carefully crafted image. Kolkatans love Dada unconditionally because they feel he is their man – one who doesn’t mind sharing a few secrets. And that is a bond that takes some breaking. A lot has been said been said about Ganguly and his relationship with Kolkatans in the lead-up to the game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Pune Warriors. Loyalties have been divided for the much-anticipated clash with many seeing it as a revenge match for Ganguly who was snubbed by the Knight Riders and remained unsold in the auction after a bitter three-season association. And Gautam Gambhir, rightly so, wanted to have no part of it. He wanted to stay away the hype of Dada’s ‘home game’. “It’s just the media that is creating the hype. For me, it’s just another game of cricket. Sourav is an individual. We are playing against Pune Warriors and not against Sourav Ganguly,” Gambhir said on the match eve. “Whoever Kolkata wants to support they are free to support. I have always maintained KKR belongs to Kolkata. There is no other team that belongs to Kolkata," Gambhir said. True, KKR does belong to Kolkata. But who does Kolkata belong to? Dada’s faithful and there are plenty of them in Kolkata have turned up for the game with their heart set on supporting the Warriors. One of them, Parijat, is attending the game wearing a Pune Warriors jersey. “The reason we support Dada is because he is defying the predictions that everyone had for him. When he played for India, they thought he was finished too. But he fought back. And that’s the thing about him, you can never count him out. KKR thought he was gone too but now he is leading a side and doing that well,” said Parijat. “His batting form isn’t great but there is an emotional connection. Everytime you see Dada on the pitch, you just have to support him. It’s just the way it is.” Siddharth, another fan who made it to the Eden Gardens, was actually torn between wanting to support Dada and KKR. “If I can, I want to do both. Support KKR the team and the Dada the individual. But the moment, Dada comes out to bat – I know I will cheer just for him.” Indeed, the moment Dada walked on to the Eden Gardens – the roar was unbelievable. It didn’t matter what he said. Just the sound of his voice seemed to send the crowd into raptures. It almost transported us to another age – when Dada was king. Why… if you ask his fans, he still is.