Pratyusha Jana:
As the rejuvenation of East Bengal’s second win this year seeped into the fans’ blood and veins, another part of the coin lies with hope and terror!
East Bengal has successfully shielded the home ground glory in CFL, winning against United Sports Club by 2-1. While the champions have regained their eminence on the field, off the field the jersey vendors don’t feel the same.
While talking to a few of them, it was an unmistakable fact that their merchandise business has taken a big blow after East Bengal shifted the ground. East Bengal barely had two matches on their home ground; the secret sufferers took the blow for it.
While talking to Samiran Barui, a new Barrackpore resident ruefully stated, “Today, I have barely sold five of the jerseys and very few other things like caps and badges.”
While it’s a happy festival for the brigade, the matches being shifted to different grounds is not good news for Bapi Halder, another businessman.
He stated, “We used to have a very good sell during these matches, but now barely a few get sold. We certainly need more matches on the home ground again.”
While speaking about their merchandise, they expressed clear frustration over the situation. “We have a huge collection of jerseys and other items just lying in our stockroom,” they said.
“Unfortunately, these products have been sitting there for so long that many of them have lost their original charm and quality. Jerseys that were once crisp and vibrant now look a little faded. It’s disappointing because we had high hopes for these items; however, as the matches shifted, it barely made us any profit; rather, we lost so many.”
The plea was so simple yet pointed to the glaring variety that the glory should return to home ground. A match, a tournament, a shield, and a trophy are not just closely associated with the field; they percolate to the people off the field.
With their decorative vision, crisp jerseys lying around, scarves with red and yellow passion, batches of pride and an unhinged dreamer, uncomplicatedly chimed that, “There should be more games on the home ground. If possible after the CFL, the IFA Shield matches should be played in East Bengal ground.”
Needless to say, the red and yellow brigadiers steadily surrounded the vendors; among the loud cheering, the ringing slogans and the bargaining, the voices of Bapi and Samaresh faded, but the dreams and hope shone clearly, taking the colour of red and yellow.
