On July 29, 1911, Mohun Bagan created history by becoming the first Indian club to win the IFA Shield after defeating East Yorkshire Regiment 2-1. Most Mohun Bagan players played bare feet while East Yorkshire Regiment played with proper footballing equipment. This victory was considered a landmark in the Indian freedom struggle and is celebrated as Mohun Bagan Day.
CB Block resident Kalpana Gupta, a daughter of the team’s striker Jitendranath ‘Kanu’ Roy, reminisces about her father.
My only regret is not seeing Baba play football. He was with Mohun Bagan from 1911 to 1917. Once he joined the Imperial Police Service in 1917, it was not possible for him to continue playing. I was born in 1934, the ninth of his 12 children.
As a teenager, Baba was one of the founder members of Wari Club in Dhaka. The club used to play in various tournaments across undivided Bengal. In a tournament organised by the Maharaja of Cooch Behar Nripendra Narayan, in which the maharaja himself played for the Palace team, my father caught his eye for his football skill and comportment. On learning he had passed Intermediate of Arts (IA) with good marks, the maharaja arranged for a monthly stipend of Rs 25.
Baba came to Calcutta in 1909 and got enrolled in Presidency College. He would start playing for Mohun Bagan in the same year.
We got to learn details of the historic match from a diary that was discovered in 2008 by the daughter of our youngest brother. Baba had started writing it post-retirement after our mother passed away.
My father was 21 when the team pulled off that sensational victory. He has written how, after the final whistle was blown, “mats, hats, handkerchief, umbrella and sticks were waved and thrown up into the air and the tremendous cheering shook heaven and earth. It was as if the population had gone mad.”
The players received a lot of love from countrymen for the achievement. Buses would not charge him fare. The owners of confectioners Dwarik Ghosh asked them to have breakfast at their their shop. Jabakusum offered free oil. Sen-Raleigh gifted a cycle. Foreign goods were being boycotted in favour of swadeshi products and emotions ran high with the Shield victory.
Baba returned to Dhaka after completing graduation and completed his MA and LLB there. We shifted to Calcutta in 1943. He used to play tennis and went hunting for tiger and deer. He had his own rifle. He also had a great singing voice. He would have musical gatherings at their Bakulbagan house. Playing bridge was another passion. Gostho Pal and others came every month. Dhiren Dey (legendary Mohun Bagan club administrator) too used to come.
Baba retired in 1947 as deputy inspector general of police. The only sporting occasion I remember seeing him involved in is an exhibition match organised by Mohun Bagan in the ’50s. Uttam Kumar and Jahar Ganguly played alongside footballers. I saw Suchitra Sen going around selling souvenirs. Ahindra Choudhury asked Baba to kick the ball to start the match.
Sports was in our family. My eldest brother Saroj played hockey for Kalighat Club, the youngest played cricket for Rajasthan Club. Another brother was a university blue. Even my elder daughter was a cricketer. She played for Sammilito Club in Maniktala.
I got married and settled in Salt Lake in 1974. Fox and cattle used to graze in the streets then. There were only seven-eight houses in CB Block. We could see Tank no. 9 from our house. I admit these days I love watching cricket more. I used to love Sourav (Ganguly). Now I like (M.S.) Dhoni.
As told to Sudeshna Banerjee
(Kalpana Gupta passed away earlier this year shortly after the interview took place)
