ADDA is an institution in these parts, as everyone knows. A dead serious affair, an everyday parliament. Everything from the Sandinistas to blockchain technology to social climate change in Basirhat comes up for discussion here. Today, as these youngsters pick up the alap in an unruly chorus, the notes they strike are all quintessentially Calcuttan. There are, after all, big things that have happened. A certain Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee has won the Nobel. With South Point School and Presidency College behind him, he’s a local lad. But there’s another local who has their undivided attention soon. Sourav Ganguly, that boy from Behala, has just become the BCCI head. But wait…there’s more! Cricket and its administration are dispensed within the initial stages of the panel discussion. The raag moves into more urgent territory when, after weighing the pros and cons of the matter, the roadside parliament comes to the unanimous conclusion that, in 2021, Ganguly would be the ideal chief ministerial candidate against Mamata Banerjee.
What? Yes, you heard right. Play that over in your head again, in slow motion, and see how perfectly bat meets ball. The man who was India’s most successful Test captain in his time is being seen, all of a sudden, as someone who could take over the mantle of captaincy in an altogether different domain. In terms of a formal word, there’s nothing yet: it’s still at the level hushed bazaar whispers and political backroom chat. But look at the situational context. As a lone sporting superstar in Bengal (see Maharaj as King...), Sourav has naturally had an interface with political dispensations before: first the Left regime, then Mamata Banerjee. This time, his helmsmanship of the cricket board has come about after some hefty lobbying with the top echelons of the BJP.
Denne historien er fra November 11, 2019-utgaven av Outlook.
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Denne historien er fra November 11, 2019-utgaven av Outlook.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Layers Of Lear
Director Rajat Kapoor and actor Vinay Pathak's ode to Shakespeare is an experience to behold
Loss and Longing
Memories can be painful, but they also make life more meaningful
Suprabhatham Sub Judice
M.S. Subbulakshmi decided the fate of her memorials a long time ago
Fortress of Desire
A performance titled 'A Streetcart Named Desire', featuring Indian and international artists and performers, explored different desires through an unusual act on a full moon night at the Gwalior Fort
Of Hope and Hopelessness
The body appears as light in Payal Kapadia's film
Ruptured Lives
A visit to Bangladesh in 2010 shaped the author's novel, a sensitively sketched tale of migrants' struggles
The Big Book
The Big Book of Odia Literature is a groundbreaking work that provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to the rich and varied literary traditions of Odisha
How to Refuse the Generous Thief
The poet uses all the available arsenal in English to write the most anti-colonial poetry
The Freedom Compartment
#traindiaries is a photo journal shot in the ladies coaches of Mumbai locals. It explores how women engage and familiarise themselves with spaces by building relationships with complete strangers
Love, Up in the Clouds
Manikbabur Megh is an unusual love story about a man falling for a cloud. Amborish Roychoudhury discusses the process of Manikbabu's creation with actor Chandan Sen and director Abhinandan Banerjee
