When will Kolkata really stop? Not for operation, not for politics, even for Durga Puja Pandal-hopping. It stops only on one thing – East Bengal vs Mohun Bagan Derby. Ninety minutes that freeze the city otherwise built on chaos.
The tightening descends soon throughout the city. Para clubs followed temporary screens with bed leaves. Tea stands are turned into panel discussions, where everyone suddenly become an expert. In Derby Day, the city is not working. Awaiting.
Because Kolkata Derby is not just football. It’s an identity in motion. Red and colored against green acadon. Chingri vs Ilish. GHOTTI vs Bangal. Family disputes went to recipes, accents, loyalty and geography. On paper it is the eastern Bengal vs Mohun Bagan. In real life, Kolkata is arguing in itself.
And that attracts everyone. Hardcore fans carrying drums, yes, but also uncles who have not seen a match in ten years, bus conductors who let their bias slip in fare disputes, neighbors who suddenly stop exchanging pleasure if they know that the other is wearing bad colors.
The setting is almost film. Silence in front of the storm, streets that are cleaned faster, markets buzzing with urgency, everyone rushes to find their place – whether in front of a small TV in Parabul, or inside the Salt Lake Stadium, a boiler that holds the loudest argument in Indian football.
For those who march to the ground, the spectacle is your own derby. Mini-Trucks painted red or green, faces blurred by color, smoke bombs prepared in pockets, drums bound to the hips-moving like an army on the way to war.
Because that’s what this rivalry is. Not just a game. It is an inheritance, identity and chaos rolled in ninety minutes. It’s not just a noise – it’s a storm.
What the numbers say
And yet, under noise, football itself writes its own chapters. East Bengal, team in the crossing under the head coach Oscar Bruzon, will arrive with fresh blood in Hamid Ahadad and Miguel Ferreira, Saul Crespo steel and new Indian additions such as Bipin Singh and Mardand Raine. Personal tragedy robbed them about Basim Rashid, but they carry a driving force in the collision.
Mohun Bagan, on the other hand, looks much less experimental. Their Australian Trio Jamie Maclaren, Jason Cummings and Dimitri Petratos remain a deadly front, supported by the defensive peace of Tom Aldred and Albert Rodriguez.
History leaves its fingerprints on every plug of derby. East Bengal has often tasted victory lately, but when it was, it was an unforgettable 3-1 turn in the Super Cup groups or a slim 1-0 blow in the Durand Cup 2023. Rivalry swings back and forth, never rest, always alive.
That’s why Kolkata stops. Because when East Bengal and Mohun Bagan meet, it’s not just football. It is a living, roaring, endless debate. The city divided by color, united by passion.
When Kolkata stops, it’s just worth it.
– ends
Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
August 17, 2025
