The first Kolkata derby of the season, set for August 18th, was canceled due to security concerns raised by the Kolkata police regarding the match’s organization. This decision came in the wake of the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata which triggered protests across the country.
In the wake of the recent events, another thing happened. The Durand Cup decided to do away with their usual trio of trophies presented to the winner of the finale. This time around, a new prize was put forward – and was to be awarded to the winners of the Kolkata Derby. A spine.
Surely, both the sides, projected to win a multitude of silverware in the coming years will need a spine to do all that heavy lifting. Indeed, the most anatomical Kolkata Derby of all time.
The game however did not kickoff in the Yuva Bharati Kirangan. It kicked off 200 meters away, in the outskirts of the historic stadium.
Try mixing the actual colors – red, gold, green, and maroon – the result is not very pleasant. Two clubs embroiled in a feud over a player who controversially switched sides. Maclaren or Diamantakos – who will prove to be the better forward this season? Bagan taking shots at the other club on their social media handles, the Red & Gold trying to reply in kind.
All these arguments mixed into the horizon, which echoed back a single voice this evening. The depth of the scars inflicted by the primal cruelty against a woman make the real points of contention glaringly obvious. Had the animal not gone on its hunt, the echoes from the streets around the stadium might have been far from pleasant for one of the two teams.
The supporters instead gathered to tell themselves a story so that they could get through the reality they live in. The reality that even within the sanctity of a hospital, their mother, sister, or daughter—is not safe.
The ones who stood there must have been bewildered. The security deployed was massive but not massive enough to ensure the game could proceed. Typically, the action is limited to the eleven players on the pitch, with supporters on the sidelines. But today, their was a call for action and it was met with equal fervor from those who throng the stands.
The Red and Gold, alongside the Green and Maroon—typically at odds on derby days – cried out together so loud that you almost had to feel both the sides had scored a goal, at the same time. Unfortunately, we did not have a ball or a referee this evening. Instead we had the police with their sticks and shields. The game was too one-sided and the vans too few to fit in all the people gathered.
The abyss is scared of the people. Their collective voice is deafening. The people are scared of the abyss they face. It’s silence is deafening.
For those who say this was a win for East Bengal & Mohun Bagan – I say false. The Durand says false as they assign the game as a tie. False says those police personnel who go back home grinning and give themselves a pat on the back – a job well done. The ones subject to lathi-charge says false to you. False says the women who have lived through time in this jungle.
Read: East Bengal suffers bitter defeat to Altyn at Kolkata
If anything, at least those gathered can go back with their spines in place. They can take comfort in knowing that the club they love still has people who can fight for their spines when needed.
The protest in front of the VYBK is over. The whistle has been blow for full-time. Now we sit on edge, dreading the next big headline to break, like what unfolded in Kolkata recently. The clock ticks, the animal persists. Looking for it’s prey. People rise in protest. The news fades. Everyone takes whatever they can out of the sorry carcass. The cycle of time continues. We sit on the edge.
Again and again, and forever. Violence and degradation.
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