Kolkata: It couldn’t have been a better way to show respect for one of India’s all time great playmaker Krishanu Dey as a bronze statue of the former footballer was unveiled today at the Patuli connector on the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. The 8 and half feet statue made of bronze was inaugurated by the State Education Minister Partha Chatterjee. Also present on the occasion was Rajya Sabha MP Manish Gupta along with late Krishanu’s wife Pony Dey and son Sohom.
Footballers of yeseteryears like Atanu Bhattacharya, Aloke Mukherjee , Ami Bhadra along with Abhijit Mondal and Dipankar Roy also graced the occasion.
According to Partha Chatterjee, “He (Krishanu) hails from our locality. Initially we had plans to keep the statue in the locality he belonged but later changed our thoughts. The reason we have put it here is that the football fans on their way to the Salt Lake Stadium will have a glimpse of the football great who once enthralled the spectators with his skills.
It was an emotional moment for Krishanu’s wife Pony Dey. “People who loved watching him play will get to see his statue. I have made it sure that everything about the statue is perfect, particularly his jersey, shorts. He used to wear a ring while playing. All I wanted is to make him (Krishanu) look identical whenever people looked at his statue.”
The statue has been made by Bhabatosh Sutar, a renowned sculptor of this city. This assignment was given to Mr. Sutar four years ago and finally it has been completed. The statue was decided to be placed at Naktala Udayan Sangha, where the former player used to live. But lack of space in the locality has resulted in the statue to be placed at Patuli. It is a part of ward No. 101 and the local Councillor, Mr. Bappaditya Dasgupta played a key role to build the statue.
“This work was commissioned to me four years ago. The statue weighs around 400 kilograms and the full completion of the statue took almost 6 months to complete” says Sutar. This statue however will be a full statue and not a bust of the football legend. Sutar who himself was a big fan of Dey says that it was a tough challenge for him. “Open art statue is a difficult job as every precise detail is to be looked upon, from hair curls to the folds in jersey’s and pants”.
Krishanu Dey commonly known as “Indian Maradona” was a prolific player that his country has ever produced. He was adored for his football skills and also for a lethal left foot. He began his professional football career in 1979 with Calcutta Police team and joined Mohun Bagan in 1982. He joined East Bengal two years later and continued to play there for 7 years. He again returned to Bagan and then back to Bengal in 1994.
He also represented India in 10 list ‘A’ matches and scored 7 remarkable goals which included a hattrick in Merdeka Tournament that was held in Malaysia in 1986. He captained the Indian side in the 1992 Asian Cup.