West Bengal Govt felicitates Ganguly

The West Bengal Government on Monday felicitated the captain of the Indian cricket team Sourav Ganguly for his achievements in the game. At the function in Calcutta, the Indian captain was presented with a `Maslin' dhoti and kurta (the main dress of Bengal) and 100 rasgullas in a clay jar by the Chief Minister of the State Jyoti Basu. Also present were the Deputy Chief Minister Buddahdev Bhattacharya, the Sports Minister Subhas Chakrabarty and the Sheriff of Calcutta Pankaj Roy.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that he felt proud to be born on the same day as that of Ganguly. "His birthday is July 8, the same as mine. But he is an icon for the new generation while I am slowly fading into the generation of the past. I am happy, that Bengal has produced a sportsman of international standards. I really do not understand much about sports. However, I had always lamented the fact that the state had failed to produce an international cricketer. Saurav has proved that an international cricketer can come up from Bengal."

Continuing his address, Basu said, "Two `C's will stand Sourav in good stead. They are confidence and courage. These two factors will help him to keep his place at the top of the cricket world. The entire state is proud of Sourav."

Even though the Deputy Chief Minister was asked to speak on the occasion, he did not do so. Instead he presented Sourav with a tri colour `uttariya'. Draping the `uttariya' which incidentally is a smaller version of a shawl, Bhattacharya said that the occasion was for Sourav and not for him to deliver a speech.

In his short speech which lasted about eight minutes, Ganguly thanked everyone for honouring him. However, he had a small message for the media also. "When we play, the first and foremost thing in our mind is the prestige of the nation. We try our utmost to increase it. However, there are times when we fail to do so. It is then that the media and the public hound us. They have to realise that the criticism should be constructive. The press and the public should inspire us through constructive criticism."

Ganguly also stated that even though his dream of leading India had been fulfilled, he still had another ambition. "That dream is to lead Bengal to a Ranji Trophy victory. Bengal has won the Ranji Trophy only twice. I would like to better that record as the captain of the state team."

Others who were present at the occasion were Ganguly's wife Dona, his father Chandi Ganguly and brother Snehasis Ganguly. There were about 8000 spectators present at the Netaji indoor stadium.