INTRO

13th November 2022 – Know Your Cheenapara project was initiated by Sohini Pyne, Vibha Mitra and Navpreet Arora. The project is an awareness generating project on Tiretta Bazaar, India’s oldest Chinese settlement. The orientation on the precint was done with students of 4 schools – The Heritage School, Indus Valley World Academy, Mahadevi Birla World Academy and Modern High School International.
Based on the presentations, heritage walk and various workshops, the students are going to present their research in the streets and temples of Tiretta Bazaar on 15th January 2022.
‘Know Your Cheenapara’ – an awareness generating project at Tiretta Bazaar, India’s oldest Chinese settlement or Cheenapara to start the discourse on shared heritage, shared cultures and shared responsibilities at a young age with students of Mahadevi Birla World Academy, Modern High School International, Indus Valley Word School and The Heritage School. Last Sunday, we (Navpreet Arora , Vibha Mitra and Sohini Pyne) commenced the 3 month long research project, with the school kids joining us on site for:
1. An orientation presentation on the Calcutta Chinese community
2. A heritage walk led by me and Navpreet Arora
3. A demonstration of Chinese calligraphy by two of the community elders – Mr. Chen Yh and Mr. Wu.
4. A lantern making workshop with 3 youngsters – Clayton, Gloria and Pauline.
This comes after the nomination of Tiretta Bazaar to the World Monuments Watch 2022 by the World Monuments Fund as one of the 25 sites globally in need of urgent protection.
Nam Soon Temple, the venue for our World Monuments Watch Day event. Built in 1820, Nam Soon Temple houses 3 deities – Kwan Yin, Lu Ban and Kaishen. Each deity represents an essential aspect of Chinese trader settlement life. The most noticeable feature of this temple is an enormous ship-like structure hung from the roof, made in wood and heavily ornamented. The furniture at this temple is a testimony to the famed woodcrafting skill of Chinese carpenters of the 18th-20th centuries. We’re grateful to the President and Secretary of the temple for letting us host our exhibition there. To know more about this temple and the other 5 temples in the neighborhood, join us at Know Your Cheenapara for a heritage walk.