Tutu Bose: Kolkata maidan mourns loss of larger-than-life character

The manicured lawns of Mohun Bagan Club was teeming with members of Kolkata's footballing fraternity — players, media crew and admirers. Inside the tent of the historic club lay the mortal remains of Swapan Sadhan Bose, the club's long-serving former president popularly known as ‘Tutu’ Bose, as numerous VIPs — including new chief minister Suvendu Adhikari, politicians of all hues, and Sourav Ganguly — trooped in to pay their last respects.

Not the usual send-off reserved for a sports official even in this football-crazy city, but then the universal 'Tutu da' was no ordinary sports administrator. Kolkata has seen quite a few of this breed, including those who have wielded enormous clout in the cricket or football ecosystem of the country (Jagmohan Dalmiya, Biswanath Dutta), but Tutu was arguably the most colourful, with his appeal stretching across club loyalties to East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting fans as well.      

“It is with profound grief and deep sorrow that we inform you of the passing away of our very own Mohun Bagan Ratna Swapan Sadhan Bose. His immense contribution, unwavering dedication and lifelong service to Mohun Bagan Athletic Club will forever remain etched in our hearts,” read a Mohun Bagan AC Instagram post.

‘’His contribution to the club has been unparalleled. I have always shared a special relationship with him and the family,’’ remarked Ganguly, former India captain and now president of the Cricket Association of Bengal.

A local businessman and former Rajya Sabha member (2005-11) nominated by the Trinamool Congress, Tutu was admitted to a private hospital in Kolkata late on Monday, 11 May after he suffered a massive cardiac arrest, passing away on Tuesday.

Born on 23 January 1948 in Howrah, Tutu first got involved with Mohun Bagan in 1989-90 and was an integral part of the club in different administrative capacities all the way to April 2025, when he officially announced his retirement from all positions largely due to ill health.

He was secretary of the club from 1991-95 and then became president, a position he held until 2017. The long tenure saw Tutu mastermind a major policy change in the club's recruitment policy, which had until then desisted from signing up a single overseas footballer.

Famed Nigerian striker Chima Okorie was their first foreign professional in 1991, and Tutu's aggressive recruitment style saw the maroon-and-green mariners rope in I.M. Vijayan — one of India’s most gifted strikers — from Kerala Police, while Maidan folklore still talks about the way his team snatched the Krishanu Dey-Bikash Panji combination from archrivals East Bengal.

The emergence of the Indian Super League (ISL) and Mohun Bagan’s entry aided by the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group in 2014 ushered in the so-called era of corporatisation, which in a way also signalled the erosion of Tutu’s stature.

At the peak of his powers, Tutu’s famous pep talks to Mohun Bagan players ahead of the Kolkata derby against East Bengal was something which fired up the supporters as well. However, things will be different ahead of their clash in the Indian Super League on Sunday, 17 May, which could be a title-deciding one.

Go well, Tutu da. It will be difficult to get another one quite like you...