Colours of Loyalty

Residents of a government housing estate off Kolkata’s Eastern Metropolitan Bypass aren’t content with just wearing soccer clubs’ colours; they want to paint their walls with them too.

Kolkatans are known for their fierce loyalties to the city’s three soccer clubs—Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting—and proudly wear club colours to matches. But residents of a government housing estate off Kolkata’s Eastern Metropolitan Bypass aren’t content with just wearing the clubs’ colours; they want to paint their walls with them too. When supporters of East Bengal wanted to paint the exterior walls of their block red-and-gold, fans of Mohun Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting protested. East Bengal devotees argued that red-and-gold were the cheapest shades available, but the others wouldn’t accept the argument. Ultimately, a compromise was worked out: the walls would sport all six colours of the three clubs—black-and-white of Mohammedan Sporting, green-and-maroon of Mohun Bagan, and East Bengal’s red-and-gold. Suffice to say, the neighbourhood has become quite a showstopper.

East BengalfootballKolkataMohun Bagan