Kolkata: A row of lanes and bylanes criss-crossing a claustrophobic Girish Park neighbourhood in the heart of north Kolkata is now wearing the colours of Brazil. Even as the ‘Selecaos’ get ready to weave magic on the pitch at the Fifa World Cup, portraits of Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Raphinha, Endrick and Thiago stare from the walls in their beaming yellow jerseys. This is where Brazilian ambassador to India Kenneth Felix Haczynski Da Nobrega paid a visit in 2024 and marvelled at the love for his country’s team and clicked pictures of houses, walls, doors and windows that had been painted in yellow and green. Fakir Chakrabarty Lane - Kolkata’s ‘Brazilpara’, however, has embraced other nations, too, this World Cup, retaining its loyalty to the land of Pele.
Paintings of Messi, Mbappe and Ronaldo now adorn the walls, something that would have been absurd till the last World Cup. “Three legends — Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar — are playing their last World Cup. This is a special occasion for the entire football world and we are celebrating that. We have decided to dedicate a wall to Argentina and another to the three legends. The latter will have paintings of the three modern greats in action. The Argentina wall will be painted with a picture of Messi and his team,” said Rajdeep Pal, a member of Uttar Kolkata Dishari, the club that has taken the initiative to paint the neighbourhood with World Cup hues.
A narrow, 40-foot-long road cutting through the area is lined by around 40 houses whose walls have now been turned into a World Cup gallery. There’s Neymar, of course, in a celebratory pose with his tongue sticking out and his palms placed above his ears. Messi, resplendent in Argentina’s blue and white jersey, is about to unleash his lethal left-footer and Ronaldo, speeding away with the ball in his blinding red Portugal colours. A giant Brazil flag flutters at the top, strung between two houses. Another has been painted across a long wall.
But a few metres away, an Argentina flag, too, has been painted on the ground-floor walls of an adjacent house. Then, there’s the three World Cup mascots that jostle for space on the narrow walls between the windows of an adjacent house. A collage of Ronaldo’s myriad moods flanks the mascots even as dozens of Brazil paper flags have been strewn on strings, forming a yellow ceiling to the lane.
Despite the multiple shades, Fakir Chakrabarty Lane retains Brazil in its heart. “While we support Brazil, World Cup is also a celebration of football, a time to enjoy the goals and rue the misses. A time to stay awake through the day, waiting for the whistle to start. We are ready for groggy mornings and sleepless nights, for the sake of Brazil and Messi,” said Joydeep Pal, a local resident.
Club members will watch all Brazil, Argentina, Spain, France, Germany and Portugal matches together. “Be it 3.30 in the morning or midnight, we won’t miss the stars in action. We will cheer for Brazil as usual. They haven’t won a World Cup for 24 years. But this could be the year,” said Gopal Das, a Brazil fan.
The club is arranging a giant screen that will beam all matches from the second round.
