Indian Museum, in collaboration with the Brazil consulate, organised an evening celebrating Kolkata’s footballing heritage and its eternal love for the canary yellow jersey on November 28 at the Indian Musem courtyard.
The afternoon started off with an inter-school sports quiz but the highlight was the live screening later in the evening of the Brazil vs Switzerland match.
Attending the evening were André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, ambassador of Brazil to India, whose brainchild the idea of hosting the screening was, Pradeep Khemka, honorary consul of Brazil in Kolkata, other dignitaries and expats, all dressed in Brazilian colours.
Honorary consul Pradeep Khemka and ambassador Andre Aranha Correa do Lago during Brazil’s national anthem
Speaking about the evening, Khemka told The Telegraph: “The idea (of organising a live screening) came up during a Brazil exhibition held two months ago at the Indian Museum when the museum authorities suggested to the ambassador that we do something there having to do with football. The only match at a decent time was the Brazil-Switzerland one at 9.30pm. All the others were late at night. So we decided to organise an inter-school football quiz followed by live screening of that match. We had to cap the number of participating schools at 12 as there would not have been space on the stage for more teams.”
The Heritage School won the quiz, St. James’ School was runner-up and Vivekananda Mission came third. The ambassador handed over Brazil jerseys to all the teams and the winning team even got Al Rihla, the official Fifa World Cup 2022 ball.
The small local Brazilian community was present in full force. “One couple came by train from the outskirts of Kolkata with a baby,” Khemka added.
Eyes glued to the screen as the ball kicked off
Although the first half remained goalless, the atmosphere at the museum courtyard was charged from the start. The match was peppered with attacks and counterattacks which kept the spectators on the edge of their seats.
The moment of glory arrived with Casemiro slotting one into the net in the 83rd minute. “Everyone went crazy and the mood was electric,” said Khemka. It was Samba on the field in full flair, as the Seleçãos edged Switzerland 1-0 to bag their second win and progress to the knockout stages of the tournament.
“The Indian Museum is the oldest in Asia and we are celebrating our 209th year in the coming months. This is the first time we are organising an event of this sort. The concept of a museum is evolving, making it more of a cultural space. It is a beautiful opportunity to come together and celebrate the rich heritage and culture of Bengal and Brazil through its common passion of football,” said Sayan Bhattacharya, education officer, Indian Museum.