Trevor James Morgan (a well-famed British born Australian football manager within the Indian circuit) has shared his Puja days’ in Calcutta. The former AFC Bournemouth Center forward became nostalgic while going through the passages of his old EB days via handset. One of his most crucial achievements as Red and Gold Brigade head coach is the winning of the Federation cup by climbing down its arch rival Mohun Bagan AC in 2010. His guidance led East Bengal an exalted status in the Asian level competition (East Bengal reached quarterfinals of AFC Cup. The phenomenon was groundbreaking as for the very first time an Indian club leveled up at this podium). Morgan was nominated as the football manager of Kerala Blasters FC and Assistant coach of FC Pune City in the years of 2015 and 2018 respectively.
He remembered that “it has been quite a few years that, I left Calcutta. But, the vibes and the festivities of Calcutta’s Durga Puja were very close to my soul, I never forget the moments of infatuation of this enjoyment. Go back to what I had spent without any help from the time machine. I am very familiar with the series of lights on the streets, the crowd of the people of the Pandals. I witnessed during my stay in Calcutta that the city comes alive at this time. Leaving aside the fatigue, sadness, lack, complaints, quarries and disputes of the whole year, people wake up with fresh oxygen”.
“Irrespective of religion, caste and creed, the people of every layer of the society are cordially invited to join the festival. This is the greatness of Durga Puja. To be very honest, prior to being a part of an enlarged Red and Gold Brigade Family (East Bengal Club and its spectators) I did not have anything regarding the temperament of this festival. Day by day I started feeling the pulse of the city, its emotional and passionate crowd always used to enchant me”.
Morgan also added “as a foreigner who came to a completely unknown city in search of a profession, I was curious to perceive the colors, smells, tastes of this fabulous festival of Bengal. The EB players piqued my curiosity, the story of Goddess Durga’s slaying of Mahisasura was narrated to me by Mehtab Hussain-Sandip Nandy (the former experienced East Bengal Players, currently they are retired). Flipping through the pages of memory, it is remembered that Durga and her sons are worshiped at this time of the year by their uncountable disciples. As far as I can remember, the spirited last five days are very much extractive”.
In addition to this, the current head coach of Under 20 Australian Football elucidated that “professionalism and me are synonymous with each other. So it is my duty to keep the goods and bad of the EB in my mind. That’s why it was a priority for me to get down to training with the players in the early morning, building up a constructive game strategy and trying to trace the shortcomings of the opposition. I would never tolerate laxity in practice in the name of Puja. But, as a prudent manager, I had to keep an eye on the side of the footballers. I was aware of the significance of the actual connotation of Puja. For that reason, I used to give the opportunity to the players of my team to take part in this celebration. I had to focus on providing time and space to the family to sap the vitality of the festival”.
“Experience has taught me that no matter where you are, this magnificent festival will attract you too. You should feel an invisible pull towards this autumn festival. It is a festival that leaves an impression on the mind forever. The so-called geographical boundaries failed to deny the proliferation of ebullience to different parts of the world”.
