Teacher decorates home with Brazilian flags after childhood emotion over Brazil’s defeat
A building painted in green and yellow stands out prominently. Brazilian national flags adorn its walls. Images of football legends such as Pele and Ronaldo Nazario, alongside current stars Neymar and Vinicius Junior, decorate the exterior.
A Brazilian flag flies from the rooftop. From a distance, many people might mistake the building for a sports club. In reality, however, it is the home of a schoolteacher.
The house is located in the Boro Das area of Dakkhin Angarpara in Ramganj upazila of Lakshmipur district. Its owner, Shimul Kanti Das, 37, teaches at Dakkhin Jagatpur Government Primary School in the upazila.
Inspired by his support for Brazil, his favourite team in the FIFA World Cup, he transformed his residence into a “Small Brazil”.
People from different areas visit the house every day to see it. Some take photographs, while others record videos.
Many visitors subsequently share those photographs and videos on social media platforms.
Speaking to Prothom Alo, Shimul Kanti Das said, “I have supported the Brazilian national team since childhood. Brazil’s defeat to France in the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final affected me deeply. I cried after that match. Perhaps that defeat made my love for the team even stronger. When Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, that emotion reached an entirely new level. My affection for the team remains as strong today as it was then.”
Shimul Kanti Das explained that every World Cup brings a special sense of excitement for him regarding Brazil.
That feeling inspired him to decorate his home in Brazil’s national colours. He wanted anyone who saw the house to immediately recognise that he supports Brazil.
He spent between Tk 10,000 and Tk 15,000 on the project, including adding photographs of players, creating decorative artwork on the walls, and repainting the building.
He completed the decoration work four days before the start of the World Cup and intends to keep the house in its current form until the tournament concludes.