 |
| Terreti Bazaar: Kolkata's China Town. (Image Courtesy: Indrajit Das) |
“Calcutta is not for everyone. You want your city clean and green, stick to Delhi. You want your city rich and impersonal, go to Bombay. You want them hi-tech and full of draught beer, Bangalore’s your place. But if you want a city with a soul, come to Calcutta.” – Vir Sanghvi, journalist, author and talk show host.
Sanghvi puts it rightly while describing our dear city, Calcutta or Kolkata. We cannot refute the fact that this is the reason why our city has been termed as a true world city. This article will give an insight to the East Kolkata China Town which is said to be the only Chinatown in the country with the largest number of Chinese populaces.
In the late 18th century, Haka Chinese immigrants were the first to settle here. It has been more than two centuries that the Chinese people have settled and lived in India. The locality where they first inhabited is called Tangra, now also known as the New China Town. The Old China Town is in Poddar Court.
The Chinese Indian people who are residing in Tangra belong to the third generation of immigrants (as per survey and research till 2016). These immigrants were eventually strife-free till the 1962 Sino-Indian War made them abandon their residents and migrate to other countries.
Most of the migrated immigrants earned their livings through “Chinese kitchens” in the US and Canada.
Eventually, an eminent worker named Peter at China Town’s popular restaurant, Beijing, spoke about China’s pride, “China is No.1 in the world. But we can’t go back now. We are Indian citizens. We vote here; we do business here.”
The Chinese diaspora that settled in Calcutta’s Old China Town in Tiretta Bazaar in the late 18th century were from districts of Fujian and Canton. These people were specialized in carpentry, cabinet making, and ironworks. Opium dealings were also a well-known practice back then.
Later, in the 1850s, the next wave of immigrants of Hakka Chinese origin arrived. They were displaced after the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64) and the Punti-Hakka Wars (1856-57). This time they settled in the Old China Town and became popular for their leather works.
They opened shoe stores along Bentinck Street and Bowbazar. The Old China Town also witnessed the arrival of a large refugee population from South China in the 1930s and 1940s due to the Japanese Invasion, Second World War, and the post-war civil war between Kuomintang and Mao’s Communists.
Present status of Temples and Chinese Breakfast of China Town
Temples of China Town
The temples or places of worship though are referred to as “churches”, they are moreover sites of veneration that adhere to Chinese traditional religion and have nothing to do with Christianity.
- Toong On Church
- Sea IP Church
- Chonghee Dong Thein Haue Church
- Gee Hing Church
- Nam Soon Church
- Sea Voi Yune Leong Futh Church
Toong On Church, (since 1904)
The original temple and the community center inside the temple itself were enhanced into a red-brick neo-classical structure by the Au family who started the Nanking restaurant on its ground floor. It was later stopped due to a lack of maintenance and economic stability.
The community center and the temple continued to exist on the first floor. Nanking Restaurant became an incredibly posh and renowned Chinese restaurant in the city then. The restaurant got shut down post-independence in the late 1970s. This magnificent structure lay largely vacant nowadays.
Sea IP Church, (since 1905)
One of the most well-known temples or churches in the Teritta bazaar is Kwan Yin Temple, also known as Sea IP Church. It was established in the year 1905. Though not the oldest, it is the most easily accessible of the other six temples. The temple is two-storied where the ground floor is mostly used as a resting place or a library and the top floor is the main Church. Goddess Kwan Yin sits on the altar and is surrounded by many other Chinese gods and goddesses.
Nam Soon Church, (since 1820)
It is the oldest of the six Chinese Temples of Tiretta Bazaar. It is also the most spacious of all the Churches and also contains a large courtyard.
Sea Voi Yune Leong Futh Church (since 1908)
It is the smallest but most elegant of all the six temples of Teritta Bazaar. It houses the twin idols of two ancient Chinese Gods. The temple also consists of a set of weapons, wall hangings and roof hangings, and numerous images and statues of Chinese Gods and Goddesses.
Chinese Breakfast of Old China Town
The Sunday morning silence of the Old China Town at Teritta Bazaar breaks around five and it comes to life from six to nine in the morning. The place satiates one’s cravings for those hot, juicy chicken Momos, Pork Momos, Sausages, Prawn wafers, and many more Chinese delicacies.
Walking down the streets, one can witness the momo containers on both sides of the road, sausages hung from ropes, and also the typical Indian breakfast menus. The hot soup noodles, steamed baozi buns, both steamed and deep-fried dumplings are served at the roadside stalls.
Sunday Breakfast in Old China Town Kolkata (Poddar Court)
Apart from these, there are Rolls, Rice Pudding, Ham Choi, Rice or Meat Zung, and a few more Pork and Beef items are also available.
Some of the items which deserve a special mention:
- Stuffed Bun:
It is mainly the steamed stuffed buns that are mostly made of Pork and Fish. They are served with a tangy sauce and are available in abundance in Teritta Bazaar’s Sunday Breakfast. - Dumpling/ Momo:
This is probably the highest selling item over there. It comes in three fillings, Pork, Chicken, and Fish. It is also served pan-fried. - Meat Zung and Rice Zung:
These mainly have a sticky-rice outer coating with meat or sweet lentil filling respectively and wrapped in bamboo leaves and then steamed.
China Town is one of the most popular sites in Calcutta, but the conditions here are going through a dark phase due to the falling economy, altering social conditions, and mass globalization. Kolkata China Town is changing rapidly. There are no new migrants and so the small population is failing to hold on to traditional Chinese professions like dentistry, laundry, and tannery. Nevertheless, China Town will always be a favorite for every Kolkata resident and hopefully, that love will preserve the estate in the coming future.
Post a Comment