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Regular-article-logo Wednesday, 08 July 2026

Cradle of cricket

t2 was a guest at a very special birthday celebration — 225 years of CC&FC!

TT Bureau Published 14.03.17, 12:00 AM
Sourav Ganguly was at his wittiest best at CC&FC’s 225th birthday dinner held at the Ballygunge landmark on February 23. “How are you finding being an administrator?” asked his one-time teammate and now CC&FC president Arun Lal. “The good thing is that CC&FC will vote for me because Arun is there. That is the best part of being an administrator!” quipped Sourav. “You’ve had my vote for many years,” laughed Arun. Sourav had two thumbs up for CC&FC. “It is a great institution. You come to the heart of Calcutta and you see such greenery and such facilities to play the game, you feel you need to create infrastructure for players to perform and persist with them,” he said.
Sourav Ganguly and Arun Lal felicitated Keshav Datt, the club’s past president and one of the three Calcuttans to have featured in a team that brought back an Olympic gold from London in 1948. Datt, 91, has been at the club almost from the time when “Indians were not allowed to be a part of CC&FC”. “I was the fourth or fifth Indian member of CC&FC,” he said. 
Chuni Goswami, who was also felicitated, met up with Keshav Datt. “I have been a member from 1968 but I played for the club in 1964, against Worcestershire, the county champion of England. A lot of important Test players played for them. I had scored 38,” recounted the football legend who played football, cricket and tennis for the club. For him, the “importance” of the club lies in the fact that “it is synonymous with sports in the city.”
International sporting stars, all members of the club, were also honoured.
Usha Uthup came dressed for the special gig in CC&FC colours: red, white and black. “It’s a birthday special. I performed here for the 200th year and my message to CC&FC is: keep growing, keep glowing. I have composed a new song that I’ll be singing tonight. It says it’s a home away from home. You can always find a friend here. You never need to be alone,” smiled the singer who comes to the club for her morning walk.
The evening saw all the past presidents of CC&FC being felicitated.
The special birthday cake!
Devang Gandhi (left) had never scored at CC&FC, till a Ranji Trophy match against Maharashtra happened. “I was very sceptical! As luck would have it, I got 95,” laughed the former India opener. He loves the club, of course. “The ground was lush green… like a billiards table…. The enormity of this 225th year is hard to fathom,” said Devang, who has been a member for more than 20 years. 
CC&FC committee member Deepankar Nandi said: “225 years is a huge milestone. All of us should feel immensely proud and privileged....”
Gurbux Singh and Noomi Mehta at the dinner. “When I came to Calcutta, CC&FC was where Mohun Bagan club now is… the best grass ground in the world at that given time. Dhyan Chand, KD Singh Babu, Balbir Singh… they all played there,” said the hockey Olympian who has been a CC&FC member for more than 25 years.
“The future of this club lies in sports and not in the normal strain of politics.... All of us should get together and make sure there are no more elections,” smiled Noomi Mehta.
Sanjay Budhia has been a member for more than 15 years and loves his morning walks at the club. “CC&FC is like an oasis. It has a cosmopolitan crowd and its own charm,” he smiled. 
Committee member in charge of entertainment, Sanaya Mehta Vyas, finally let her hair down with Usha Uthup hitting the celebration notes with Jambalaya and Malaika. “I have been coming here since I was born!”she smiled. 
Sourav Ganguly was back at CC&FC on February 26 to watch the former Bengal Ranji Trophy cricketers playing an invitational CC&FC team. 
Deep Dasgupta was there with sons Rayaan and Aaryan. For Rayaan, it was special to watch daddy play ‘live’ for the first time. “I have got my whites on after six years,” said the former India ’keeper-batsman, who made his Ranji debut at CC&FC and hit a ton. 
Snehasish Ganguly padded up at CC&FC “after may be 15-20 years”. “It’s still as beautiful as ever. This is a good gesture from CC&FC… this reunion… old memories are coming back,” said Sourav’s elder bro. 
Arun Lal was on the ball. “225 years makes the mind boggle… it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We want to be together this entire year and celebrate every aspect of sports and membership of this club,” he had said at the dinner. 

Text: Saionee Chakraborty
Pictures: B. Halder & Pabitra Das

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