"The Cock Doth Crow, To Let You Know
If You Be Wise, It's Time To Rise"
For decades, cockfights have been prevalent in many countries, but their real roots are in the Indus Valley civilization. It was their favorite pastime. In India, in spite of the game being made illegal under the Prevention of Cruelty Towards Animal Act,1960, in Andhra Pradesh cockfights are still hugely popular. But this is the story of a cockfight, not from Andhra Pradesh but from West Bengal. In Kalyani in the suburbs of Kolkata, there’s a Santhal tribal village where bets are still placed on cock fights. In fact, in 1994 it transformed into a form of gambling. And it still continues, duels are held every Thursday and Sunday.
The owners match up the pairs and if the two cocks are at par, they go for the final duel. To match up, both the cocks are kept face to face and if one overpowers the other they aren’t paired up. The pairing match starts 1 hour before the actual faceoff. The locals gather around 5 pm for the final showdown. The interesting fact is the birds are seldom trained to fight, as they say - “Desi Morog Ke Bedhe Rakle, Emni Teii Tej Hoe Jaai”; (If you keep the rooster tied for days, it will develop anger in him). For the final drama, small knives(Chaku) are tied up on the legs, which are done by skilled knives-men, called ‘Katkari’. The chosen cocks are placed face to face, and the one who manages to survive 2-3 games is declared the winner.
The cocks are given names based on their color. I got a chance to encounter a match between Lal(red) and Khadua (black) roosters. It was a pair-up match, where the red one overpowered the black. The final match was between Khudia (orchard yellow) and Sada (white), where the latter got killed. The dead roosters become dinner for the community, which one can buy by paying Rs 5-10 to the Morog Khela Committee (Cock Fight Club).
Every year this committee holds two large-scale cock fights, usually during Saraswati puja and Dussehra. The winners can take home bicycles, watches, and cash prizes of Rs 2500 to 3000. These fights are actually illegal but how the organizers manage to organize them without the cops noticing them, well that story is for another day.
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