The Behala boy was in fine form, smiling and chatting his way through the two-hour programme marking the foundation stone-laying ceremony of the Satyajit Ray Railway Indoor Stadium, a five-minute drive from his home.
His only moment of discomfiture was when Nachiketa suddenly broke out into a song for political paribartan (change). As smiles spread across the faces on the dais of Mamata and her merry men, the star cricketer who has been quite a vocal fan of the chief minister stiffened and blinked. As if a ball had just jumped off a good length.
That apart, Sourav in a blue-on-white striped shirt was a picture of poise as he mingled with the 30-odd celebrities invited by railway minister Mamata Banerjee, ranging from P.T. Usha to Debasree Roy.
The former Team India skipper was, of course, the top draw — and Mamata’s casting coup. “I had called him (on October 12) and invited him for the programme. I am happy that he is amongst us today,” said Mamata.
Sourav in turn thanked the railway minister for the Rs 57crore stadium for 5,000 spectators that was coming up on the field locally referred to as “rail-er math”, where he had practised regularly in the last 10 years and extensively before his comeback in 2006.
“We all know how important job security is for sportsmen and the railways has been doing the needful for years,” said the KKR captain, known to be close to senior CPM leader Asok Bhattacharya.
So how did Bhattacharya respond to Sourav turning out for the rival team? On the front foot. “He had asked me whether he should attend the function and I had advised him to do so. He is the city’s most successful sports personality, the stadium is near his residence and it was an invitation from the railway minister, not the leader of a political party,” Bhattacharya told Metro.
The spotlight was on Sourav, but the stage also belonged to another Bengali icon — Satyajit Ray.
“Very few people know that my father was a keen sportsperson. He used to play cricket and also badminton, table tennis and other indoor games,” said son Sandip, promising to donate rare photographs and racquets used by his father to the Ray memorabilia section at the stadium that Mamata announced, impromptu.