‘Lota’ and ‘Macha’: Bengal’s football legacy - GetBengal Story

‘Lota’ and ‘macha’. These two untranslatable Bengali words have come to symbolise East Bengal and Mohun Bagan, arguably the two most venerable clubs on Kolkata’s equally venerable maidan. ‘Lota’ is essentially a small vessel meant to carry water. Ask any Mohun Bagan supporter, and they will launch into a vociferous explanation of how the ‘crass’ refugees from erstwhile East Bengal used a ‘lota’ during their daily ablutions, to put it politely.

On the other hand, ‘macha’ is the scornful epithet used by said refugees to describe their apparently less aggressive, more prosperous, easy-going cousins this side of the border, who wasted their time in idle gossip while sitting on a ‘macha’, or makeshift structure. 

These are battle lines drawn decades ago, primarily during the Partition of 1947, when millions of Bengali Hindu refugees escaped what became East Pakistan and migrated to ‘west’ Bengal. Almost as symbols of the myriad cultural and social differences, the two football clubs became important markers, flag-bearers of entire communities.

Generations have passed since the events that gave birth to this identity, but the emotional resonance remains strong. Today, East Bengal’s fanbase stretches across generations and geographies. For many families, the club is an heirloom. For others, it is a rediscovery, a way of connecting to their roots.

As writer and journalist Amitava Sanyal notes, the Internet era has added a new dimension to this legacy. Fan clubs, often operating without any official ties to the team, have emerged as dynamic hubs of cultural expression. They create their own merchandise, organize match screenings, and foster a sense of belonging that mirrors what East Bengal has always stood for.

For Debanjan Chakrabarti, director (East and Northeast), British Council, supporting East Bengal is pretty much a family legacy, courtesy his maternal uncles. However, he feels the “visceral edge” to the rivalry has been diluted over generations, thanks in no small measure to the rise of cricket post-1983. “I think it is a way of keeping family histories intact, watching an East Bengal-Mohun Bagan match together is akin to a family gathering around a fireplace, strengthening bonds that are otherwise weakened by the pressures of everyday life.”

Chakrabarti’s young daughter, too, has inherited the legacy, though probably not as passionately as her father. Nonetheless, as a social identity, she will carry forward the inheritance like millions of new generation fans, hardcore or otherwise.