MOHAN BAGAN LOST BABLOO DA

He has served his club for seventeen years (1974- 1991) with a loyalty that is no short of a legend and unmatched till today. All the more so because his club, Mohun Bagan, is one of Kolkata football's Big three and among the top clubs in Indian football. His car was maroon- one of the colours of Mohun Bagan jersey. The competitors of his club desperate to poach him have invariably faced the deepest of frustration whenever he had turned down the most tempting of offers. The name of this rock-solid defender will be embossed in history of Indian football and in the heart of every football-lover in Bengal no matter where his/ her loyalty lies.

His undying love for his club translated into active association even after he hung up his boots, as he moved into a coaching career. Under his guidance Mohun Bangan claimed the national league title twice besides one runner-up finish in the most glorious of his three stints as coach. His success as a Mohun Bagan coach is not matched by too many of his peers.

He is Subrata Bhattacharya, among the alltime best of Bengal's football talents.

And then came the dark phase. After a few disappointing games, he was accused of foul-mouthing his boys, alarmingly losing popularity among them and resistant to any advice and intervention of club officials in selecting players. He was sidelined in his club and unceremoniously dropped as a coach. The treatment he got in his own club post his career as a footballer will find few parallels in Indian football.

And when he finally made up his mind to join Mohun Bagan's arch rival East Bengal during the last two days, it created a stir. "How, just how, could Bablooda (As he is popularly known) do this to us?", fumed Mohun Bagan supporters. Finally yesterday he visited East Bengal tent among ecstatic East Bengal supporters to collect the confirmation letter and attend a press conference. What the East Bengal officials have done is no less than a recruiting coup, the answer to the one Mohun Bagan did long back as they poached Manoranjan Bhattacharya, who was East Bengal's answer to Mohun Bagan's Subrata till he switched loyalties.

I wonder what those who feel betrayed or let down are up to. The logic, rational or emotional, is too strong to defy. On a rational point of view he is a professional coach, and a professional coach doesn't look at personal loyalties in joining a club. East Bengal needed, going by the new AIFF guidelines for all teams taking part in the first professional league set to start this year, a coach with a coaching license. And Subrata has one, unlike Subhas Bhowmick, one of the other names discussed in the meeting to select the coach. And on an emotional point of view, how many miles does one walk holding the hands, when the insults from the loved one refuses to stop?


I am sure there are many Mohun Bagan fans who buy this logic and are not feeling 'betrayed'.

Wish you a great time Bablooda, do better than what you've achieved so far. And prove your worth to those who reposed faith in you. And I said all this being a Mohun Bagan supporter.

SHONAR BANGLA.....GOLDEN BENGAL

Oteeter Sonar Banglar samriddhir protik chhilo Gola bhara Dhan, Goal bhara Goru, Pukur bhara Machh aar Baroj bhara Paan.Aajker dine Banglate proyojon Foreign Investment, Industry, Information Technology Park, Modern Township, Shopping Mall, Multiplex, Internet & Mobile connectivity...aaro kato ki. Samay badlechhe...aar tar sathe Bangaleer Chaoa-Paoar talikao.

BBD

BBD- an acronym well-known to every Bengali worth his/ her salt. That's Benoy-Badal-Dinesh, the freedom fighter trio, by whose names BBD Bag, Kolkata's famous heritage landmark is named. Right? Yes and no.BBD is the new Hindi film directed by Anjan Dutt and produced by Moxie Entertainments. It has a passing mention in my post Bollywood Via Darjeeling which talks about Moxie's other current venture Via Darjeeling. The film is currently being shot in Kolkata entirely on location with an ensemble cast- from the veteran Naseeruddin Shah to rookie Shauvik.BBD is also about three individuals- Binoy- a young model-actor from Mumbai, Badal- a hard-boiled honest Kolkata cop & Dennis- an ex-rock musician junkie who migrated to the US - who are thrown together due to the most unusual circumstances. It goes on to tell how these young men meet & how their lives get inextricably bound together. Sounds similar to Yuva? Well, the similarity ends just there. This is a complex political thriller which is Anjan's most ambitious venture to date. The film is being completely shot in Kolkata in over 30 locations in three months starting from March 2007. No sets will be constructed for this ensemble film of more than 200 actors. The camera will follow the characters extensively through the city, its streets, buildings and nightlife. Kolkata in all its grandeur, is essentially a character of the film rather than just the backdrop. The climax of the film takes place in BBD Bag, which is historically significant to the film.The cast includes Naseeruddin Shah, Jimmy Sheirgill (Benoy), Kay Kay Menon (Badal), Sandhya Mridul, Rituparna Sengupta, Sonali Kulkarni, Shauvik (Dennis) and a host of familiar faces from Kolkata- Tota Roy Chowdhury, Rimjhim Mitra, Biswajit Chakraborty, Suman Mukherjee, Arindam Sil (Also the executive producer). City model Pooja Gupta makes an appearance as a bar singer. The music by young composer Neel Dutt, the son of Anjan Dutt, has songs being sung by Usha Uthup, Shan, Kunal Ganjawalla and Sunidhi Chauhan.For more action on BBD watch this space.Here's treating you with some exclusive stills shared by the makers.

SPIDERMAN IN BANGAL.....

In the wake of the release of the third coming of Spiderman, I came across a funny take on our dear Spidey on Orkut. It is how it will sound if the legendary Spiderman song is dubbed in Bangal (The Bengali dialect of Bangladesh, and to all Bengalis in and from Bengal the language of the Bangals or people from pre-partition East Bengal). Here it goes:

Spiderman, Spiderman
Dori dhoira jhuilo kyan
Poira gele bhangbe thyang
Spiderman, Spiderman.
...........................
Spiderman, Spiderman

Octopus er 8 ta thyang

Tomare dhorte aase kyan

Spiderman, Spiderman.
Spiderman, Spiderman

Biya korte dorao kyan

Mary Jane je tomar jaan

Spiderman, Spiderman.
Spiderman, Spiderman

Mukhosh feilya palao kyan

Dont be coward, be a man

Spiderman, Spiderman.
Tumi na thakle SpidermanMon-ta kore aan-chaan

Duniyar joto polapanTomare je chaay Spiderman.
Abar tumi aaila fireNew York City r ghore ghore

Box-office re korle maatSpiderman jindabaad..!!