The Cockfight Club of Kalyani

In a Santali village, cockfights have turned into a form of gambling and duels are held every Thursday and Sunday.

The winners take home bicycles, watches, and cash prizes of Rs 2,500 to 3,000.

(Photo: Ribhu Chaterjee/The Quint)

For decades, cockfights have been prevalent in many countries, but its real roots are in the Indus Valley civilization.

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 Santal tribal village where bets are still placed on cockfights.

In fact, in 1994 it transformed into a form of gambling. And it still continues – duels are held every Thursday and Sunday.

A cock being carried for the blood sport.

A man with his cock, posing for the photo.

A pair-up match between Khudia and Sada.

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 face-off.

A boy trying to control his cock.

A pair-up match between Khadua and Khudia.

Both the parties trying to be at par.

Khadua overpowered Khudia.

Rage of Khudia.

The cocks are given names based on their colour. 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 cock.

Cock trying to free itself.

The locals gather around 5 pm for the final showdown. The interesting fact is that the birds are seldom trained to fight. There is a saying here: 'Desi morog ke bedhe rakle, emni teii tej hoe jaai' (If you keep the rooster tied for days, it will develop anger in him).

Approval between the boys for the pair-up match.

Eye to rye.

Moments before the actual match.

For the final drama, small knives 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 two-three games is declared the winner.

Katkari and his knives.

One of the guys offering his cock to Katkari to tie the knife around his leg.

Close-up of how knives are tied.

Skilled Katkari doing his job.

A rooster with the knife tied on its leg.

A rooster ready for the final duel.

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 for Rs 5-10 rupees from the Morog Khela Committee (Cock Fight Club).

The final duel starts by keeping both the cocks face to face.

Final match between Khudia and Sada.

Khudia trying to judge its opponent.

Khudia pounces on Sada.

Khudia knows that he has won the match.

The dead cock is being taken back.

The knife is being removed from the dead cock, for a new game.

Every year this committee holds two large-scale cock fights, usually during Sarasvati Puja and Dussehra.

The winners can take home bicycles, watches, and cash prizes of Rs 2,500 to 3,000.

These fights are actually illegal but how the organisers manage to organise them without the cops noticing them, well, that story is for another day.