64 Squares
The joke during my school days used to be , “Unknown are Bengali policemen(They were mostly Biharis), Musalman taxi driver(They were mostly Sardarjis), sardarji tram drivers (mostly from UP and a few Bengalis) and Madrasi dead (they will retire and return to their native villages);” true those days in the early sixties they were rarely seen.
Lot of local sports used to occupy space like kabaddi, soccer, badminton, and basketball etc. carom used to be popular, while chess became a rage after the famous chess matches between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky, promoted vigorously by the Soviets seated in Kolkata’s Gorky Sadan and the proletariat of left front recognizing the game as an intellectual challenge against bourgeoisie cricket played by the affluent and the lazy colonies.
Time rolled over and cricket gobbled every other sport, relegating them into the dark distant alleys of sports ministry. Many sports like soccer, kabaddi, have been taken over by corporates, while the Non-Olympics Association, which I too headed a few years as president, is also promoting those games not part of the Olympics.
Just the next block to my home is Gariahat and the traffic island dividing the south and northbound traffic below the flyover is a busy joint for serious chess games. I was surprised to see for the first time in my life, an Octogenarian Sikh gentleman (Sardarji) deeply engrossed in his defence with a few curious onlookers. They all are disciplined, letting the players make the move and quietly whispering among themselves the fate and outcome after every move by each player. The heavy traffic is no deterrent and the railings double up as seats and the table for deftly balancing the board, which are adjusted suitably after loss of army, causing any imbalance and risk of fall.
Regardless of many drawbacks, Kolkata and Bengal has some sweet surprises like this, one may not find elsewhere in our country!
I love Kolkata!
Sampath Kumar
