Events come with contexts, and historic happenings have multiple moods. The show takes us through early 20th century Calcutta, its messbaris (boarding houses), tea stall addas, Babu culture and more nuanced reasons behind Bengalis being seen as a rather laidback people. Sen Sharma pauses to mock and comment to contextualise the tale from a personal lens. For instance, after telling us how our colonisers introduced football to the state to build character and distract young boys from masturbation and homosexuality, she says, “Sweet”. The podcast has four episodes — one trailer, and three 20-minute segments. Throughout, it’s hard to miss how sound has been exploited for a synaesthetic experience. We particularly like documentary-style additions such as historians explaining trends and behaviours of the times.

The podcast doesn’t lose sight of regionality, and thus wields language in its favour. Sen Sharma uses words such as hoichoi — to mean excitement or hubbub — and paltimaar, to mean backlash. If anything, this audio show leaves a Bengali sports-agnostic, like this writer, wanting for more.    

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