West Bengal CM projects the IPL triumph as a new facet of her ‘paribartan'
Unprecedented scenes of celebrations were witnessed in the city for four hours when the State Government, Kolkata Municipal Corporation and the Cricket Association of Bengal felicitated the Kolkata Knight Riders team members here on Tuesday.
On a hot and humid day, thousands of people braved the conditions to line up the roadside during the team's 90-minute journey from Hazra Crossing to Writers' Buildings and then to the Eden Gardens where a full house joined the celebration.
The entire team was present along with support staff, except for three foreign players — Sunil Narain of the West Indies, Brett Lee of Australia and Jacques Kallis of South Africa.
The rest of the squad, including the Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, soaked in the adulation of thousands following their first IPL triumph.
As the open bus carrying the players and the others reached the Writers' Buildings, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her cabinet colleagues joined in to felicitate all, including team co-owners, Shah Rukh Khan, Jay Mehta, Juhi Chawla and the others with scarves and mementos.
Hour-long programme
Ms. Banerjee joined the team on the bus to the Eden Gardens where a full house had assembled to witness an hour-long programme. The Chief Minister invited the governor, M.K. Narayanan, to present all the players and support staff with scarves.
Ms. Banerjee herself presented all the members of the team with a gold chain each, and asked Shah Rukh Khan and captain Gautam Gambhir to cut a huge cake, following which the entire team had a lap of honour with the IPL trophy, to thundering cheers from the spectators.
Surrounded by some of the notable cine stars of Bengal and others from the cultural scene, Ms. Banerjee seemed overwhelmed when Shah Rukh Khan said: “We have been waiting for this day.
“Thank you, Didi! Thank you, Kolkata! Thank you, West Bengal…on behalf of every member of the team. Only Kolkata will rule!”
On his part, Gambhir said: “Thank you, Didi. It is fantastic support that we have received from the people of Kolkata and Bengal.”
Keywords: Kolkata Knight Riders, Kolkata reception, Eden Gardens, bus-stop parade, Mamata Banerjee, Shah Rukh Khan, Gautam Gambhir
getting the trophy from the CM is fine. CSK team was hosted by the then
CM, Mr.Karunanidhi who re-presented the trophy to M.S.Dhoni. Nothing
wrong but this kind of a mad and crazy celebration is unwarranted. Shows
complete immaturity on the part of SRK and Didi.
Shahrukhan celebrating the victory as if he has own the world cup. A great showman.
Sad the Hindu would stoop so low to put down a woman who works as hard and
Mamataji for expressing a little joy and celebrative spirit at the Games taking place in
HER OWN STATE. Maybe it is the typical male patronizing syndrome to causes males
in India to keep putting women down no matter how high their accomplishments.
Why should a fairness cream peddler like Shah Rukh get centre stage in Mamata's
State? He didn't even seem to mind and everyone showed Mamata the greatest
respect Only the Media who is jealous of her popularity and citation as one of the
100 most influential people in the world and threatened by her determination to
decide what industries are allowed into her State. One thing for sure Mamata will
surely not endanger her States with deadly and dangerous technologies as other
women rulers who have cases against them for disproportionate assets and to get off
the hook are willing to sign deals with the devil to stay in power. Long live Mamataji
Media can't fool everyone
Waste of time . mamta and srk celebrates the victory of kolkata over other states by wounding bengalis. The catch is only two bengal player played in kkr.
I don’t know why people always react like this, if you don’t want to celebrate then don't go as simple as that, and if you are happy with their success then go and attend such ceremonies....Shahrukh being the Brand ambassador of Kolkata has right to promote such events as it is something different from the routine celebration, He is setting up the trend for future comings! and in addition why you are so jealous that there are No Bengali's in the team, Let me ask you this, is a community bigger than Game?, (He {SRK} Start up his account with Sourav Ganguly But when things doesn’t give the fruitful results then he switch to Gambhir and everyone know the after results, so One should think abt Team First. Rather selecting any Community based player's one should select player which gives you the desired result and not just mere Hopes!
What is wrong in celebrating a victory ??? you go to England you'll see the champions of English Premier League having a victory parade every year, same in case of Spanish League, French League , Italian League etc. etc. We don't have a football league as big as the rest part of the world has but IPL is something we have to cheer for.This things fills the people with joy, love & peace. You people wont understand because you are not a sports person!!!
Love Cricket , Love KKR!
I really dont know what is problem with all the people who have commented here, its a moment of joy and let whomever want to enjoy have a good time. Dont start seggregating it on the basis of private franchise / Govt owned etc. No one is forcing / requesting you guys to join or contribute. So live and let other live happily.
The event is a perfect depiction of what the 1 year old government has done in the past one year. On a working day like tuesday afternoon close to month end, more than 100000 people, mostly adults gather in the eden gardens; this perfectly shows the volume of unemployment and under-employment in Bengal. Dear Chief Minister, please stop wasting your valuable time for KKR, in stead please some more large scale industries, where the people can work, and not throng at eden gardens because they have nothing else to do.
And the governement is spending money on "important" matters like coloring the pavement in blue and white, felicitation of KKR - which is a private outlet with nothing to do with the city except for the name. And spending money for "BORSHOPURTI". Some may recall the Hirak Raja in Satyajit Ray film "Hirak rajar Deshe" using state fund for "BORSHOPURTI".
This is the most ridiculous and absurd celebration I have ever seen.
This is not a national team winning, but a cash rich franchise getting
loads of money from spectators... No significant bengal players were
there but a team full of guys from other countries and states... When
CSK won 2 times IPL and Champions league they didnt go the streets...
They were more dignified and matured, not like this stupid SRK and
mindless mamata... what a waste of time for just an entertainment
match...
Thank you DIDI . You think today but some one think tommrow.
AGAIN THANK YOU FOR IPL CELEBRATING PROGRAMM.
Money, Power, Popularity and Show off... guess what its really pathetic to see this happening. Before IPL, people always wanted to play for their country... after watchin all this, its no wonder what the aspiring cricketers/young cricketers are gonna prioritize... the team definitely can celebrate but these extravaganza and dialogues from Bengal CM "we believe that it has conquered the world" showcasing themselves as clowns... India won the T20 world cup after which IPL was started... but after IPL started Men in Blue didnt even make it to knock out stages... this T20 world cup will be the final chance to see whether IPL is growing/ruining indian cricket...
What is "Kolkata" about this Kolkata Knight Riders team? And why is this celebration as if we had won the world cup?...absolute rubbish, I would say...
Its really waste of govt money and people's time..dunno why mamta doing like this...really a sad one...
This much of fuss and show off ought to be there when film stars get involved in any affair. No wonder there was this much of pomp when SRK is the co-owner of KKR. The owners of CSK remain calm both during victory and loss.
Wondering why Kolkatta is celebrating so much? did we win world cup in any format or ranji trophy? All I see is loss of manhours spent watching IPL, wasted money to club members for IPL dramas on and off feild & political parties making use of it. Wonder we have lost our mind and forget what are we cheering for? it was just entertainment guys. If little of this was given to Hockey , our players would have been so much motivated.
I understand that this newspaper supports the communists left, right and
centre, but I seriously think that West Bengal has full right to
celebrate. There might be many faults with Mamata Banerjee, but there is
nothing wrong in her felicitating KKR. Yes, it might have turned into a
sort of political propaganda for her, but that was more than expected.
How jobless were the people who went to watch this felicitation? And Shah Rukh Khan has gone mad (probably because something that he has been doing has finally won some accolades - all movies flopped, ill treating security, trying to show off his stardom and that backfiring). I initially thought only Chennai crowd and CSK fans were mad but this shows that they are very humble and soft-spoken.
A film star who finally could make profits off his non - profit investment and a pathetic politician who has no idea about the current state of affairs of her state and hordes of jobless, senseless people - all in a time of financial and economical crisis country wide. Thank God that Gandhi and co are all dead. They would hang themselves had they seen such stupid things happening in this country that they all struggled to "free".
THis shows what will happen if an immature team wins tournamnet. CSK has won two times but they never did like this, This is a club tournament where does WB govenrment play a part in this. Looks like the game of cricket has lost its credibility by allowing these actors and politicians in this game. It is no more a gentle man's game.
Except Mamta and perhaps the bengali actors nobody is from Calcutta and the team players are also not seen except Gambir. Strange are the ways of our country. In Tamilnadu they are fanatical about their Tamil culture and in their films none of the female artists speak Tamil and almost all are from outside tamilnadu. We are truly a interesting group of people and an enigma in its true sense.
Why is government fund wasted on such events? Government of West Bengal
is in no way related to IPL. Then for what is this felicitation done?
Is it to provoke Sourav? Is it to anger the CPM ? I don't know why
Mamata's politics has become so low.If this is the state of affairs
then all i can think of is it has moved from frying pan to fire.
Sorry to say, our CM really do not understand what needs to be celebrated and what not. There were many events in last one year which could have been celebrated. Seeing the cultural vision of our leaders, I feel pity for the future of "Bengal"
"Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad" - Greek proverb.
One wonders what West Bengal is celebrating.
Pathetic! I feel sorry for the people of West Bengal. The victory of KKR team was brought in by bunch of foriegn players who made millions. Ms. Mamtha, take note of this - Kolkatta is one of poorest cities in India, people from other cities are not going to look up to Kolkatta because the KKR team won IPL championship. So get back to work, do something productive for your citizens, and stop wasting public money. The KKR team players did not need a gold chain from your government, they already have millions of dollars in their bank account. Spend your tax money wisely so that you can stop bothering central government for bailout funds.
A socio-political satire played by one and all!
I think the media is making a mountain out of a mole hill. I am no fan of Mamatha,
but come on, she spent 45 lacs on this little show to get some publicity for her state. What about the money spent by CM's when they give crores of rupees to felicitate atheletes or what about the money spent in publicizing their achievements at the end of each year. That is a waste of money. Why doesnt the media talk about the huge subsidies given by our CM's to corporate houses and in freebies. Keep the focus on the important things - Media - do your job.
God save cricket and India.
What a waste of time & resources. I do not understand how the CM could
waste her time on such activities when Bengal is facing so much
problems.
I am not able to understand , why is M/s Mamtha Bannerjee is so excited about. Other than the name , "Kolkatta" Knight Riders, there is not much Bengal association with this team. This is not a World cup or any Olympic Medal or any International Title, that this team has won. It is really pathetic to watch the politicians, and film stars trying to decide the sports culture in this country.
This is the beginning of the end of Cricket in this country. With so many scandals , molestations , public smoking, incidents in IPL-5 coming to limelight, these politicians and film stars should be ashamed to show their face associating themselves with the IPL-5.
worst happened in kolkata..they dnt have a sufficient budget to facilitate their crowd in manners of infras n other fields despite dat they deal in such unacceptable things ..shame for mamta and another thing is dat its a private league why they were cherng on dese..infact they loose alot in form of hardcore money in dis ceremony.
we have won the cup twice.But we did not celebrate that time.because this game is only entertainment....
Once again, Mamata Banerjee seeks to highlight herself at any cost! KKR's victory has been well-deserved, but it is not Bengal's team - this WASTE appears even more disproportionate when you think of all the sportspersons (including the Bengal cricket team, which won the Vijay Hazare trophy) who have languished in the lack of govt patronage. Where did money for the gold chains come from? And what does ma-mati-manush have to do with KKR?
Shame!
I am not able understand why the CM is felicitating KKR team. it is not
a team consisting of Bengal players, nor it is owned by Bengal govt. the
victory doesn't bring any laurels or monetary benefits to Bengal except
feeding some money starving franchise owners. It is nothing but waste of
precious time and money of Govt.
@Prarthito, be careful my friend. You can potentially get yourself painted red by Didi.
On a serious note, this seems to be an attempt by Didi and TMC to get a free ride on the crowd's sentiment to get featured in seemingly positive news. Its been a while that has happened with them you know.
Why such wastage of tax-payers' money when we keep on hearing that Bengal economic condition is extremely critical. It is difficult for people like us who are born and settled in Kolkata not to feel happy of victory of any team which is named after our own city. Yet within us we know this team neither represents Kolkata nor Bengal. This 'celebration' from state's part does not make any sense.
Isn't it astonishing that even after proven charges of match fixing and the fact being established that IPL is an enterprise where BLACK MONEY is INVESTED & GENERATED in large volumes,people from all sections are so crazy of IPL. This is another big example of UPA's corrupt Govt's success in skillfully diverting the public attention from the issues of national concern through its media management technique and the only technique to manage our media is to BUY it.
DLF IPL has nothing to do with Government and in one such case, what does Mamata do down there with those people ??? Is the state Government being benefited by any means ???
If just for a win KKR is going to showoff like this, then what should chennai do for their two title victories & champions league victory
A first class reception to a third class achievement. This is bengal today!!!! Tragedy!!!
Exactly what is the reason for this celebration affecting normal public life? The government is also involving in this. Exactly what is the achievment, winning IPL, where all teams are of franchisee-based, unlike football where Clubs represent a community and the people. Exactly what we have won?? No one thinks when a nation of 121 billion people is unable to play its national anthem not more than once in the Olympics, No one thinks when the World's second most populated country can't qualify for the FIFA WC where countries more in number than the members of UN play the qualifiers to play in the world's Biggest Sporting event. Where we are, Cricket, Cricket and only Cricket, can't the seventh largest nation in the world do that or we'll just play win and celebrate that game which is not truly Global?
This is absolutely pathetic that KKR is celebrating like they have won olympics or something... Bus Parade.. Oh God!!!!
Mamata has nothing to celebrate about her govt achievements and hence this drama. This is neither Bengal's win nor Kolkatta's win.
This is ridiculous. This is not even a domestic tournament. This is a franchise in the name of a city. There are only 2 or 3 Bengal Players in the team. Owner is not a Bengali,Captain is not a Bengali,Coach is not a Bengali - Then why people in Kolkotta are assembled in Eaden Garden on a working day. Oh wait - their chief minister is also present !!! Good Job everyone and congratulations!!
@ Prarthito you are very correct ..and ans of your question is that corporates and huge money not involved in it...In True sense IPL is a game of naked people where cheer leaders are dancing ( i dont know how they are enhancing the performance of the player ??) same thing dance bar girl doing in dance bar ...the gesture these cheer leader is making like flying kissing and all and these camera only revolving around them....where we are heading ??? this is the one why by which these corporates and govt distract aam aadmi ..and aam admi not able to see fundamental issue of importance
I don't get it!!! If KKR is being celebrated like this then why wasn't
the Bengal team that lifted the Vijay Hazare cup also felicitated??
The Vijay Hazare cup actually brought Bengal into the cricketing map
of India. Secondly, why are these "celebrations" happening at the peak hours when people rush to their offices and are now stuck in traffic.
I'm from Kolkata but I stay and work in Bangalore so I am not affected, but my friends back in the city are suffering... any kind of celebration should not happen at the expense of normal office goers like us who have a deadline to meet and will be thrashed by our bosses irrespective of the reason for us being late!! Pathetic!!!
What a waste of precious natural resources.. With fuel prices already rising.. this celebration shows how we indians still want to show off our pomp and glory.
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