It is most likely that you would assume an Indian sporting fixture that regularly attracts more than a lakh could only be a game of cricket.
Certainly not in Kolkata, where on Saturday, hundreds of thousands thronged the city`s Salt Lake Stadium for the latest instalment of the `Boro Derby`, as East Bengal locked horns with Mohun Bagan in what might well be the most heavily-attended and historically significant derby one has never heard of.
In fact, there appears to be a bubbling effervescence escaping the stadium each time the two take the field that makes fans want to jump the ticket barriers to get in. “The first derby game I attended was in January 1998. Four of us went, my dad and I the maroons, and my uncle and my cousin the reds.
At the half time, with Bagan winning 1-0 and our stand being a sea of green and maroon scarves, everything seemed so sweet. At the final whistle, Bagan had won 2-1, I remember I was inThis is the manifestation of Bengal’s east-west divide, a battle that has been going on among Bengalis for many decades. As fans, we don’t get to choose the team that we like the most; we’re born or bred into it. (laughs) I have been to 23 derbies so far in my life, the experiences of which have always been different. No two derbies are the same. But like you said, it’s the fans who make it all worthwhile,” added Sengupta.