January 22, 2025

Despite Shakespeare saying that a rose remains a rose even if called by some other name, it will not be good if a rose is called Walmart-Rose or Rose-Walmart. Adding prefixes or suffixes to names that have been commonly used for ages and have come to be revered and recognized for that is not good, especially if it done through commercial compulsions.

The current controversy brewing in the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) over allowing either a prefix or a suffix to the famed Eden Gardens should be seen in this light. Although the composition of the hallowed turf will not change, calling it the Reliance-Eden Gardens or Eden Gardens-Reliance will be sacrilege.

CAB members who are protesting the move have their hearts in the right place. If any corporate is pitching in to renovate the stadium or install equipment, it should be allowed branding for that particular space only. To let them brand the entire stadium as their own will be disastrous and set a bad precedent. It will also keep changing the name at regular intervals as no corporate is going to pay for a perpetual branding right.

What this can lead to is amusing at one level and horrifying at another. Very soon, we might have branded players. How does a Vicks-Virat Kohli sound for instance? Or an Ambuja Cement-Cheteshwar Pujara? Or a McDonalds-Shikhar Dhawan?

Then we can even have an Emami-CAB President and a Tata-BCCI President. Why leave out the groundstaff? We can even have the Duckback-Chief Pitch Curator and the Safal Urea-Groundsman.

A line should be drawn at some place and renaming of Eden Gardens should be resisted.