Sourav Ganguly has etched a special place in the history of Indian Cricket since he was the first cricketer in his debut match for India at the Lord’s Test to have scored a perfect century. Therefore, while no one would require any more introduction to his profession, there are many who are unaware about his daring love story with his wifey, Dona Ganguly. So, without much ado, let's dive straight into it.
The match of Sourav and Dona proved to be nothing less than that made in heaven. To begin with, both of them resided in the same neighbourhood of Kolkata, and not to forget, nearly as next-door neighbours. While they had known each other from their childhood, however, their interest in one another only developed once they grew up. Interestingly, Sourav would often go to play football and would always take a shortcut route on the way passing by Dona’s home, with the hope of spotting her. Recalling the same in an interview, Sourav once mentioned:
“While playing football, while going somewhere. I could see her, may be way too much.”
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While this activity of peeking into Dona Roy’s home continued for the longest time, it was one incident of a badminton gaming session of Sourav with his friends that changed the dynamic of their relationship. It so happened that Sourav along with his friends was playing badminton and the shuttlecock landed in the compound of the Roy household. Dona, who all this while was secretly infatuated by Sourav, would find this as the suitable way to go speak to him. Mentioning those old days, Dona once mentioned:
"Whenever the shuttlecock fell on our compound, I got my chance to return it.”
Such small incidents of interaction between the duo brewed their love more and more and before they could know it, they had helplessly fallen in love. Well, like every new couple, Sourav had once asked Dona out for a date at the Chinese restaurant, Mandarin in Kolkata. While the moment was special, what surprised Dona a little too much was to see the exorbitant amount of food he had ordered for just the two of them. Moreover, she was all the more stunned when she spotted him finishing most of it alone. In her words:
“How much can two people eat? He ate most of it! I was thinking he eats so much!
While things went smoothly between the young couple in love, it has to be noted that they dated one another secretly and their relationship was completely unknown to their respective families. The primary reason behind hiding such big news was the fact that the two eminent families nursed some old grudges against one another. When they came to know about the couple’s relationship, they straight up refused to agree to the match. But despite knowing it all, Sourav and Dona never let anything hamper their love and continued to stay beside each other.
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Soon after letting their families know about their relationship, Sourav was called away by the Indian cricket team to play the match for India at the Lord’s Test Match in England. And rest became history as Sourav went on to create a historic century at his first every international match. Thus having prospered so far in his profession, he set his mind to get married to Dona right after his return from the England tour.
Sourav has always been a man of action. Proof of the same was found when after his magnanimous England win, he eloped with Dona in order to get married. They first thought to directly land up in the marriage registrar’s place and formally get married. However, considering Sourav’s new found fame post his century at Lord’s, it seemed a difficult proposition since everybody would recognise him and it would end up in their families knowing about it.
As the last resort, Sourav and Dona seeked help from the former’s friend who too was a Ranji cricketer, who made special arrangements for the couple’s wedding. The registrar was called and their wedding was a hushed affair with only a handful of their friends knowing about it. Recalling how he had made arrangements in a short time, Sourav’s friend surnamed as Banerjee once recalled:
“It would have been all over the press. I told Sourav, ‘Guru, let’s go to my place."
Both Dona and Sourav kept the news of their secret wedding hidden from their families for the longest time. However, after a while, they mustered courage and revealed the big secret to their families. Needless to say, they were shell shocked at first and unarguably angry. Nevertheless, after a while they decided to settle the matter and arranged another formal wedding of the couple on February 1, 1997. The couple officially became one in the presence of their friends and families.
Four years after their wedding, the madly-in-love duo welcomed their first child in 2001, a daughter whom they named Sana. Interestingly, Sana grew up to follow in her mother’s footsteps and drove her passion for classical Odissi dance. The duo often performs stage shows together. Moreover, depsite being popular public figures, the duo ensure that nothing comes in between the way in which they raise their daughter. For instance, once in an interview, Dona Ganguly highlighted how till her daughter became 16 years of age, she willingly took a break from her career in order to be there for their daughter. In her words:
"I always put motherhood ahead of everything else in my life, even career. Everything else can take a backseat when we are speaking about our daughter, Sana. Till the age of 16, I used to be there with her, looking after everything. Barring one or two occasions, I used to drop her to school and even brought her home."
With so many years having gone by to their marriage, Sourav and Dona are still like the young couple they were once in their lives. The former BCCI captain wears his heart on his sleeves when it comes to his wife. His wife, Dona too, reciprocates the same kind of love and devotion for him. For instance, in one of her interviews, when Dona was asked about how she felt being tagged as the wife of India's former cricket captain, rather than her own merit of being an exceptional classical dancer, she mentioned that on the contrary, she was proud being Sourav Ganguly's wife. In her words:
"Its a proud thing to be Mrs. Sourav Ganguly. I feel privileged to be known by his name and to have him as my friend and life partner. He loves cricket and has taught India how to win abroad. People love him for that. Similarly, I am also happy to keep my little identity I have as an Odissi dancer too. That's what keeps me going, my passion for my dance."
For quite some time now, Bollywood has been buzzing with the reports of Sourav Ganguly’s biopic being planned soon enough. While the entire fandom of the cricketing legend has been making their wild guesses from Hrithik Roshan, Ranbir Kapoor and Siddharth Malhotra to enact the same, it was Sourav’s wife, Dona who had revealed her preference of actor for the same. In her words:
“If you want to know my favourites I would name Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan. But we all know agewise they won’t fit as the 24-year-old Sourav Ganguly. In most part of the film, the plot will revolve around this timeframe. So, I think it would be wise to select someone who will look good according to that age.”
What do you think about Sourav Ganguly and Dona Ganguly’s sweet tale of love?
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