The Armenian team made it to the Calcutta Cup finals after 14 long years. “We have really young boys in our team; next year we hope to come back bigger and better,” said Davit Gevorgyan, 20, (left) as he received his trophy for the Best Player of the Tournament from S.K. Gazmer, the joint commissioner of armed police and chief guest for the evening.

Football, volleyball, khokho, kabaddi, basketball, judo... name it and this sport has it — that’s how Verghese Kunjachan, assistant commissioner of police and vice-president of the Bengal Rugby Football Union, described rugby at CC&FC before the finals of Calcutta Cup 2012 on Saturday.

Starting on July 12, the rugby tournament had 10 teams, including Jungle Crows, Calcutta Police, Future Hope and CC&FC. The teams were divided into Division I and II.

Saturday was definitely a day for the cops as their teams won hands down in both divisions. While in Division II the Calcutta Police Sergeants’ Institute pulled off a 22-0 win against FA Ruggers, in Division I, Calcutta Police beat Armenians 29-0.

“We have been associated with rugby for almost 140 years. The Calcutta Cup has its origins in this very club. The teams are all really good,” said CC&FC president Naresh Ojha.

The origins of the Calcutta Cup can be traced to the 1870s, when the Calcutta Football Club was in existence. This club later merged with other clubs to form the CC&FC.

Rugby was brought to Indian shores by the British. A match between England on one side and Scotland, Ireland and Wales on the other in Calcutta in 1872 was India’s first brush with this thrilling contact sport. Eventually, rugby lost favour because of a drop in membership, the growing popularity of polo and the departure of the British army from the city. The club decided to draw out all its funds, in the form of silver coins, and melted them to create the Calcutta Cup.

The silver trophy decorated with cobras and an elephant on top, was offered to the Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England with the hope that it would be used for competitive rugby tournaments. But fearing bad competition between clubs within the country, RFU decided to use it for international tournaments.

Today, the Calcutta Cup is awarded to the annual Six Nations Championship played between England and Scotland. Played this February, the Calcutta Cup was won by England.

Calcutta, however, never gave up on rugby. The city’s rising enthusiasm and the formation of various new clubs eventually led the RFU in 1924 to present an exact replica of the Calcutta Cup to the Calcutta Football Club. The cup has since been awarded to the winners of the All India and South Asia Rugby Cup. This tournament will be played on the CC&FC grounds from September 8 to 15.

Sreyoshi Dey

Padamsee at play: CC&FC hosted ‘play’ of a different kind on Wednesday. Conceptualised and directed by Alyque Padamsee, the evening found the veteran deliver a monologue of a lonely old man. Unspoken Monologues, which he described as “real-life cries from the heart”, consisted of six short pieces. “The stories are sad, funny and outstanding. The writers, all from Calcutta, wanted to remain anonymous, yet the concepts are real and have the power to affect the audience,” said Padamsee. Talking about acting and theatre, he said: “A good actor does not need to memorise his lines. A good actor plays the role, but the role plays the great actor.” So how were the six stories strung together? Padamsee got the stories from people he met during his trips to Calcutta. He later guided the team of scriptwriters and actors of production house The Red Curtain to give shape to Unspoken Monologues. An interactive session with the audience followed post-play. Picture by Rashbehari Das

(Top) The Division I finals between Armenians and Calcutta Police and (above) the city police team with the trophy. “Unfortunately, most Indians keep away from rugby. Parents would rather protect their kids than encourage them to be hardy. Playing with the Armenians has always been a treat. Even as schoolboys they are brilliant at the game,” said rugby secretary of Calcutta Police Sergeant’s Institute and top cop Verghese Kunjachan. Pictures by Rashbehari Das