THE CALCUTTA SPORTS WALK - THE FABLED MAIDAN Kolkata by HopOn India

Itinerary
This is a typical itinerary for this product

Stop At: Statue of Gostho Paul, Maidan, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021, India

A legendary individual who is regarded as the father of ‘Kolkata football’, Goshto Pal. Football for ages has been one of the most popular sport played in this city.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Centre, Kolkata (Calcutta) 700021 India

Eden Gardens has been one of the principal landmarks of the city. Initially designed in 1841 Eden Gardens was eventually constructed in 1864 primarily for cricket matches and is the second largest cricket stadium in the World after the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The stadium at the very beginning was named after the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, the then Governor General of India.

Duration: 5 minutes

Stop At: Eden Gardens, Maidan, B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021, India

The stadium and its seating capacity (presently 68000) have been revamped a number of times to turn this arena into a world class cricket ground and I will come to the details later in the commentary. In addition to cricket, football and tennis have also been played here apart from holding the inauguration ceremony of the World Cup in cricket (1996) and ‘Military Tattoo’ which is a popular demonstration of army manoeuvres by the Army personnel. Cricket however has been the principal sport of the Gardens.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Netaji Indoor Stadium, High Court, Sahid Khudiram Bose Road, Eden Gardens, Kolkata (Calcutta) India

This indoor stadium was built by the Congress Government under the leadership of the Late Siddhartha Shankar Roy, a sportsman himself, to host the 33rd World Table Tennis Championship in 1975. The Championships were a landmark event to be held in the City of Joy featuring a number of World Class TT players.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Mohun Bagan Athletic Club, Gostho Paul Sarani, Maidan, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021, India

A legendary name in Indian football this club was established in 1889 in North Kolkata and was initially housed at Mohun Bagan Villa owned by the eminent Mitra family of North Kolkata. The ground which has natural grass is one of the finest in the country.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: East Bengal Club, Plassey, Iron Gate Rd, Maidan, Tent, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021, India

The Club was established in 1920 and its birth was as dramatic as it’s roller-coaster ride for the last nine decades. In the early stages when India was under the British Rule, football had become a popular sport among the younger generation particularly amongst the Bengali youth. But the “natives” in those days, were not allowed to have the same privileges as of their British counterparts. The then IFA Governing Body permitted only two Indian teams in the top tier of Calcutta Football League. Natives had to whet their appetites by playing in the second grade tournaments restricted to Indian teams only like the Cooch Behar Cup and Trades Cup.

Duration: 15 minutes

Stop At: Mohammedan Sporting Club, Tent Maidan, Indira Gandhi Sarani, Maidan, Kolkata, West Bengal 700021, India

The roots of Mohammedan Sporting can be traced back to the late 19th century. In 1887 Nawab Aminul Islam started the Jubilee Club even as there were two other smaller clubs belonging to the Muslim community - Crescent Club and Hamidia Club. Mohammedan Sporting was established in 1891 by merging all the three above mentioned clubs.

Duration: 15 minutes