How Belgium and Behala built Sourav Ganguly

As Sourav Ganguly turns fifty today, it's not quite enough to celebrate his awesome conquests. Instead, a rapid rewind to his formative formula may well instill a fresh dose of inspiration, valuable for India and not just Cricket.  

So my story begins with a set of Jesuit priests from Belgium, who set up a school in the Park Street area of Calcutta, called St. Xavier's. True to the finest tenets of missionary education, the base was clearly inclusive integration, no community under any pressure to migrate to any other. Yet, what was clearly ingrained, was the inevitability of cohabitation, a culture with no room for animosity or resistance, thus a pleasant specimen of the much-abused white man's burden. 

By the time Ganguly entered its hallowed portals, India was well into its fourth decade of successful independence, grappling with a fresh set of challenges. The city was still a mercantile hub and thus children with myriad hues enriched the classroom demographics, leading to a wholesome Pan Indian identity, beyond just Bengali or Punjabi, or Tamil. It thus spawned an intuitive meritocracy with kids still being choosy about friends, but on every other parameter except race, religion, or affluence. 

Thus, when Ganguly conjured a prejudice-free performance culture in the Indian team, it was pretty much an organic extension of the playing fields of Wood Street, where the fittest were invariably the favorites. The diversity of the scholar base also led to the valuable net practice in dealing with the quirks and fancies of multiple origins and mindsets, which he magnificently brought to the fore during his captaincy. Or should I say leadership, as the ability to navigate diversity towards a homogeneous destination is a challenge the entire nation is grappling with. 

On this note, one must quickly migrate to Behala, a rather ancient and populous suburb of Calcutta, where the extended Ganguly family resides jointly. From here, some key facets of the 'para' culture, much deliberated in pop culture, were mirrored significantly during his prolific tenure. Most notably, the ability to be streetfighter competitive while being flawlessly respectful, with rigorous self-expression being a leitmotif of the stalwarts of every locality, known as 'parar dada'.

Which explains why the same man who took off his shirt at Lord's and made Steve Waugh wait at the toss, is actually a reticent and respectful family man at the core, not a pub ruffian. The security of the community also ensures unconditional belonging, even the most colossal transiency inviting stern admonition but not heartless expulsion. Also, a belief in the inherent goodness and power of human beings, and thus the compulsion for genuine opportunities to redeem failure, standing by resolutely during the sternest times. 

While so many potent ingredients contributed to the heady cocktail called Ganguly, the blend of Behala and Belgium as the base spirit cannot be ignored. Which also possibly explains why a civil 'bhadralok', at the very core, can turn into a rabid streetfighter at the touch of a switch, a stark superhero with the heart of a sugary 'kheerkadam'. A truly unique concoction that will be mighty hard to replicate, in terms of emotion most certainly.