Maharaj prefers a private birthday

KOLKATA: There is simply no way that a celebrity can celebrate something as personal as a birthday in private.
Certainly not, if you are Sourav Ganguly who turns 30 on Tuesday. It was the hype around Sachin Tendulkar’s 30th birthday last April that has got the media all excited. Sourav, while savouring the anticipation in the air, is too embarrassed to talk about it.
“Why are you creating such a song and dance about a 30-yearold? It’s time for me to celebrate Sana’s (his daughter) birthdays instead,� a cheerful Ganguly said on Saturday morning.For the Indian skipper, it was business as usual even on a weekend as he stepped out after a twohour workout at the new gymnasium of the Cricket Association of Bengal.
About his plans on his birthday, Ganguly said, “It feels good to be with the family on occasions as this. I was not around last year, but since my wife and daughter were travelling with me in England we could take time out to cut the cake. This time, there are no major plans.� There will, however, be a small get-together at Sourav’s Behala residence on Monday night where some of his close friends will fly in from Colombo and Dhaka. Wife Dona, who will play hostess along with mom Nirupa, said, “It will be a private occasion where some of his old buddies of the city will be invited. Sorry, but there will be no celebrity cricketers.�
The Ganguly household is a deeply religious one and Tuesdays are strictly vegetarian as a mark of respect to the household deity. “It seems that even the cake-cutting will have to put on hold,� added Dona lightheartedly. The next day, Sourav will be off to Mumbai to shoot for a commercial.
However, much as he would have liked it, the Maharaj’s 30th birthday will not go unnoticed. ESPN-Star Sports, which has signed up Sourav for a two-year contract, has lined up a series of programmes on various facets of the cricketer, which has been on air from July 1.
A local TV channel, Akash Bangla, has gone a step further. They are visiting city schools to collect birthday cards from students which would be handed over to Sourav on Tuesday. “The response has been tremendous and we have already got around 2,000 cards lying in our office. Some of the hand-made cards are really creative,� said a spokesperson.