A Lot to Share

It was from Kerala that the Portuguese collected pepper and
introduced it in Brazil. They also introduced cassava,
pineapple and rubber. Today, rubber is one
of the most important cash crops of Kerala.

Vasisht. M.C

India and Brazil are two large countries, in two corners of the world. Kerala is one of the states in India which can claim to have similarities with Brazil. Brazil, a country that lies in the northeastern part of South America, and Kerala, a narrow strip of land lying in the southern most part of the Indian subcontinent, though situated thousands of miles apart, can still claim astounding similarities in many fields. It will be very interesting to compare the similarities between the two territories. Fascination for football, presence of various groups and races, coffee production, fascinating carnavals, etc. are the main features or characteristics of Brazil, through which the nation is popular all over the world. High literacy rate, mixture of diverse cultures, cash crops cultivation, love for sports and games are the important factors generally associated with Kerala.

One factor, which is most common to both Brazilians and Keralites, is their everlasting love for soccer. The Brazilian footballers are household names in Kerala, especially Pelé, who is treated as the greatest player ever known to the game. A talented footballer in Kerala is often compared with Pelé. The best example is I.M. Vijayan, who is often described as Pelé of Kerala. It was only from 1986 onwards that the people of Kerala got the opportunity to watch the World Cup matches of Brazil on TV (Doordarshan, the national television channel of India, started its telecast of world cup matches in Kerala only at that time.)

But long before that, the football lovers of Kerala, through newspapers and magazines, were already familiar with the Brazilian players and their yellow jersey and blue shorts. People all over the world watch whenever Brazilians play and Keralites are not exception. In Kerala, the victories and defeats of Brazilian football teams are treated emotionally by our people. Victories of Brazil become celebrations and defeats cause disappointment and gloom. Pictures and posters of Pelé and other great Brazilian footballers like Zico, Sócrates, Romário, Bebeto, Rivaldo, etc. are a common sight in the homes of Kerala.

The lullaby by Bebeto and Romário during the quarter final of the 1994 World Cup in the US was imitated by known and unknown footballers of Kerala, on the football grounds, after scoring goals. A tragic event in the football or sports of Kerala is always compared to the tragedy of Ronaldo in the 1998 World Cup final. The style of football play introduced by famous Brazilian football coach Vicente Feola (4-2-4) was adopted by the football teams and players of Kerala. The death of world famous Brazilian motor car racer Ayrton Senna was a shock to the people of Kerala.

Both in Brazil and Kerala one can see music accompanying football. When Brazilians play, the samba music follows. Likewise in Kerala football is accompanied by music of chenda (a traditional music instrument of Kerala) and sounds of bugle. Another similarity found in the societies of Kerala and Brazil is the presence of composite culture. The culture of Kerala is a fusion of cultures of different religions like Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism etc. Similarly Brazilian culture is a mixture of Red Indians, Europeans, Negroes, etc.

It is also noteworthy that Brazil and Kerala are earlier centers of Portuguese domination. Vasco da Gama's voyage from Lisbon to Calicut (1497-1498) opened a new sea route to the East and in 1500 another Portuguese sailor, Pedro Álvares Cabral, linked Brazil with the outside world. It was from Kerala that the Portuguese collected pepper and introduced it in Brazil. They also introduced a number of Brazilian and South American products in Kerala. Tapioca or cassava was introduced in the 17th century; papaya, a native of Central America was brought during the same century. Pineapple, another South American product was also introduced by the Portuguese. The Portuguese also brought rubber, a native of the Amazon valley of Brazil to Kerala. Now, rubber is one of the most important cash crops of Kerala.

We know that Brazil is called the coffee pot of the world at the same time that India is also a leading producer of coffee. But in India, Kerala contributes a major share of the coffee production. People residing in areas near the high ranges—which is the main center of coffee production—especially the people in the districts of Wynad and Idukki of Kerala eagerly watch coffee production in Brazil, since it certainly effects the price of Indian coffee in the international markets.

Brazilian and Latin American influence is also visible in the cultural fields of Kerala. Well-known Malayalam short story writer N.S. Madhavan has written a short story titled "Higuita"—the famous Colombian goal keeper of the 1990 Italian World Cup. This is a good example to show the influence of Latin America and football on Malayalam literature. People of Kerala are now very familiar with the Brazilian films, often screened at various international film festivals of Kerala. Brazilian movies like O Tronco (The Trunk), directed by João Batista de Andrade and Através da Janela (Through the Window) directed by Tata Amaral are well accepted by the film lovers of Kerala.

We can find many Portuguese words widely used in Kerala. The term used to denote window in Portuguese and Malayalam are one and the same: janela. Pablo Neruda, Gabriel Garcia Marques, Octavio Paes are the most popular Latin American writers in Kerala. It was the influence of Latin American poetry that helped the creation of a new branch of Malayalam literature in Kerala. From 1970 onwards, Latin American literary works became popular in Kerala through Malayalam translation. The poems of Latin America, which created new ideas about human liberation and gave extreme importance to humanism, became popular among the political and cultural activists of Kerala.

In the 21^st century, the relationship between Indian and Brazil needs to be improved. The visit of Indian President Mr. K.R. Narayanan to Brazil in 1998 and the visit of Brazilian President Mr. Fernando Henrique Cardoso in 1996 have been milestones in the Indo-Brazilian relationship. Football is one of the best ways to improve the friendship. In the future, more and more Brazilian football teams should visit India, especially Kerala, which is one of the cradles of Indian football. Occasional visits of Brazilian teams would certainly improve the standard of the game in India. The people of India, including Keralites are eagerly waiting for the arrival of Brazilian players and their football teams.

M.C. Vasisht, the author, is a lecturer in history at the Malabar Christian College in Calicut, Kerala State, South India. He can be reached at vasishtmc@yahoo.co.in 

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