Eden Gardens Kolkata referred as Cricket’s Answer to the Colosseum
150 Years of Eden Gardens, Kolkata A special cover was issued by Begal Cricket Association on 11.11.2014 to commemorate the 150 Years of Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The oldest cricket stadium in India (established in 1864), is often regarded informally as India’s home of cricket. The ground has been referred to as “Cricket’s Answer to the Colosseum” and is widely acknowledged to be one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world. The stadium gets its name from the Eden Gardens, one of the oldest parks in Kolkata, adjacent to the stadium, designed in 1841 and named after the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, the then Governor-General of India. Initially it was named ‘Auckland Circus Gardens’ but later changed to ‘Eden Gardens’ by its makers inspired by Garden of Eden in the Bible. According to popular culture, Babu Rajchandra Das, the then Zamindar (landlord) of Kolkata, had gifted one of his biggest gardens besides river Hooghly, to Viceroy Lord Auckland Eden and his sister Emily Eden after they helped him by saving his 3rd daughter from a fatal disease. From then onwards the garden’s name was changed from Mar Bagan to Eden Gardens.
