 According to officially endorsed records of the British Empire, Calcutta was born on a rain-swept day on the 24th of August 1690. Job Chanak, a merchant of the British East India Company, stepped ashore on the muddy banks of the Hooghly River. In closed vicinity lay three villages, Chutanuti, Govindapur and the one whose name would remain, Kolikata. It was not until 1698 that the East India Company, leased from the estate of the local landlord, the three villages at an annual rent of 1,195 rupees. And on the banks of the river, the dimensions of a mega-police slowly started taking shape. By the end of the 17th century, Calcutta was the egress through which the produce from all of northern India began to flow to the markets of the empire. By 1750, the population of Calcutta was an estimated 100,000 and above. Two distinct areas, one English, one native, came to coexist in Calcutta. From Krishnanagar in the north, down the flow of the Hooghly, these craftsmen came, bringing with them the art of molding life out of clay and straw. Whether they're Muslims, whether they're Christians, whether they're Brahmins, whatever, I'm a Brahmo but I used to equally participate in the Durga Puja of the Pada when I was a child. So that's a very sort of unifying factor. Calcutta and its residents had always taken their politics seriously. Where in the colonial era, the city had bred revolution, independence saw the channeling of people's energy towards constructive descent within a democracy. The clamour of politics and the call to change the lot of society had echoed through these streets for as long as one can remember. For some time in the 20th century, cinema dominated as a powerful form of art that reached out to people. The screen became an expression of social change and the filmmakers art a commentary on society. It was 1911. A bare-feet group of youngsters took on another group who were much better equipped. It was a challenge on the field. For the first time, a native team defeated Europeans and football found its pride of place in the psyche of the Calcutta. The Calcutta means football, the football means the Calcutta. I mean, in the 20th century, football was a Christianity. It was the peak of the world. But when it came to football, it was a joke.