Episodes

  • British Conceptions

    British Conceptions
    Aug 29 2023
    It’s 1857. British soldiers play football in the barracks of Bengal, but Bengalis—with their “delicate limbs”—aren’t welcome to play ball. How could India come to be known as “the Brazil of Asia”? In this episode, we meet the Immortal Eleven.
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    19 mins
  • The Father of Indian Football

    The Father of Indian Football
    Sep 5 2023
    We meet Nagendraprasad Sarbadhikari, founding father of Indian football. He showed Indians that they could not only express their masculinity, but also beat the British at their own sport.
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    19 mins
  • No Boots? No Problem

    No Boots? No Problem
    Sep 12 2023
    Nagendra marries into the Sovabazaar family, and starts a football club in its name. The British are baffled when the Indians show up…barefoot.
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    15 mins
  • Mohun Bagan's Palatial Origins

    Mohun Bagan's Palatial Origins
    Sep 19 2023
    Three royal families set out to find a proper setting for a football club, and find it in the Mohun Bagan marble palace. Bagan’s start is rocky, but the winds of change—sporting and political—start to gather speed.
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    20 mins
  • Kicked Into Shape

    Kicked Into Shape
    Sep 26 2023
    Former army man Sailen Bose shakes things up at Mohun Bagan, kicking (literally) the players into shape. The British decide to partition Bengal, in furtherance of the strategy of ‘Divide and Rule,’ but Bengal rises in protest. For inspiration, people begin to look to indigenous scientific innovators, nationalist writers and…footballers.
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    18 mins
  • The Bhaduri Brothers

    The Bhaduri Brothers
    Oct 3 2023
    With the help of the Bhaduri Brothers, the Immortal Eleven ascend the ranks—all the way to the 1905 Gladstone Cup. Bengalis from all over travel to Chinsurah in the hopes of witnessing a victory against the British neatly packaged into a football tournament.
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    16 mins
  • The Bomb Heard 'Round Bengal

    The Bomb Heard 'Round Bengal
    Oct 10 2023
    A revolutionary terrorist bomb attack on a British magistrate in Muzzafarpur goes horribly wrong. A fired-up Mohun Bagan wins their way into the IFA Shield; politics can’t help but spill onto the field.
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    18 mins
  • The Amor Ekadosh Level Up (Again)

    The Amor Ekadosh Level Up (Again)
    Oct 17 2023
    No longer content with winning tournaments like the Trades Cup, Mohun Bagan set their eyes on the real prize: the IFA Shield. Sailen Bose scours the gullies of North Calcutta to identify talent, and captain Shibdas Bhaduri proposes an audacious tactical overhaul.
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    18 mins