Maidan

 

We stare at the sprawling grounds

Beneath the green turf though

There is the city’s red

Of revolution.

 

‘Michil, protibad, birodh -

This is the heart of the city’s revolution,’

Every blade of grass sings

Inquilab zindabad.’

 

The comrade in me awakens

But, as always, you think different,

‘Isn’t this also where you said

They had the Book fair for ages?’

 

Of course, how could I forget that?

The October revolution falls quiet

In front of Das Kapital,

Rabindra-sangeet, Benfish prevails

 

Microcosm of the Mahanagar,

Perhaps Brigade Parade whispers,

Biplob or books, there is unity

The Choice was in the city’s hands…

 

19^th May 2026

 

Brigade Parade Ground, located on the eastern edge of Kolkata’s Maidan, is one of India’s most symbolically charged public grounds because it has long functioned as the city’s great democratic stage. Originally a colonial military parade space under the British Raj, it gradually transformed into the epicentre of Bengal’s political culture, hosting massive rallies, protest movements, labour gatherings, and historic speeches across ideological lines — from Left Front mobilisations to nationalist, populist, and contemporary party events. For decades, phrases like “Brigade cholo” became synonymous with political assertion in Bengal, where crowds gathering at Brigade were seen as a measure of a movement’s public strength. Yet the ground is equally tied to Kolkata’s broader civic identity: it exists within the Maidan’s ecosystem of football culture, book fairs, concerts, leisure, and everyday adda, making it more than merely a political arena. In many ways, Brigade Parade Ground represents Kolkata itself — argumentative, intellectual, theatrical, democratic, and deeply invested in public life.