As a resident from countryside of Kozhikkode, I had the privilege of sighting the orchestrated dissemination of flags, posters, captivating frescoes, and vibrant processions, significantly marking three momentous occasions. The first is evident during the observance of the temple’s “ulsavams,” characterized by ceremonial rituals, processions, and cultural manifestations. The second occasion transpires during the commemoration of the “Milad,” an event that centers upon the veneration of the Islamic prophet Muhammad’s nativity and then the electoral process, shifting the landscapes to adorned with iconography, banners, and posters. Along with these three vital occasions, there is a fourth one which enhances the total village to a festive mood, the football world Cup.Rooted Passion: The Flourishing Football Fever
In every football season, club football grasps a substantial number of spectators. Despite this, the FIFA world cup has a massive number of followers, and every corner of the village, every local tea shop, houses, schoos, and digital space transforms into an arena in which supporters representing a wide array of teams ranging from Argentina, Brazil and to Saudi Arabia, and Japan.
At the same time, the distribution of club football followers is limited to specific clusters, the other one bursts every constraint and attracts every age, gender, and social strata. The common screening center became the hub for every football fan to enjoy, criticize, tease, and relish victory according to the fate of their favorite and opposite teams. Financial contributions are coming from both overseas and locally to meet the expenses associated with the screening event and its associated arrangements.
I saw an eighty-year-old grandfather tying yellow ribbons denoting Brazil to his kid during the procession. Also I had encountered a middle-aged Argentina fan with tears after the final victory. He was the same guy who left the screening with tears, along with desperate Messi in Maracana after the world cup final of 2014. The roots of this beautiful game bind those players with my ordinary villagers who never saw them.
Every Villages of malabar and kerala undergoes the same. The passion towards a team, players reflect through paintings banners and cutouts which emerge like mushrooms in the football fever season.This beautiful game fills them with immense joy. It evokes euphoria among them, providing tears as well. After all, it constructs an adorable realm filled with interaction between individuals from different backgrounds of religion, caste, politics, and all, Like a garden of divergent flowers.Rooted Passion: The Flourishing Football Fever