Things that give him the kicks

KOCHI: When it comes to football, the Thrikkakara MLA has lot to expound upon, “Brazil is my favourite team but this time, when I saw how they played in the earlier games, I knew they wouldn’t win. I had  predicted it would be Spain or Holland,” says Benny Behanan. The MLA has plenty to share about the psychology of football fan-fanfare, the decline of the game’s popularity in India and the all pervasive influence of cricket.“People my age are extremely passionate about football. When television came first, that was the most important game for us. Those days, cricket drew no interest. It would go on for three whole days and after spending all that time, it would mostly end in a draw,” he recollects about the test matches. Coming back to football, he says, “Pele was the best player. His goals were pure magic. I’ve even kept cassettes of his games,” he says.Besides his avid love for sports, travelling is another activity he is particularly fond of. “I have travelled to USA, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore and others.”  His personal interest to explore other countries and cultures is what makes him conscious about the potential that rests in Kerala. “There is a great scope for tourism here. Geographically we are very well-endowed. We have everything from beaches to mountains to waterfalls. However, we have to promote tourism staying within our cultural framework to make it successful,” he says.Moving on, we see that the MLA has definite opinions on everything from  drinking water to higher education to health care. “Earlier Kerala’s health care and education systems were better than other states, both quality-wise and in terms of affordability. But now the quality has dropped significantly. This is something that we need to consider seriously,” he says.