Madhuri Katti

Few years ago I had accompanied my previous school students to Cheenapara thanks to the initiative of erstwhile Cha Project and today I spent whole morning once again along with my Modern High School International students thanks to the initiative of Know Your Cheenapara led by Sohini Pyne and Own The Past OTP team – Vibha Mitra , Navpreet Arora and others.
It is great to witness the baton being passed on and relentless efforts still being made. It was wonderful to see school children – both government (thanks to Pratichi and Sabir Ahamed) and private schools, city heritage enthusiasts and chinese community coming together yet again to save this unique Chinese culture still trying to thrive.
One can only hope city administration and policy makers will swing into action and take proper action to save this vulnerable neighborhood which has been listed on World Monuments Watch list.
Ipsita Ganguli
Our very own Chinatown or rather the old China Town , Tirettabazar known in common parlance as Cheenapara, an area in the older part of Calcutta , rambling Bursting at the seams, pretty mucky, lanes bulanes and over populated gullies, dusty, grimey, dirty and plainly looked through…and yet they embrace hidden gems
The first record of travel from China is Faxian (Fa-Hien) monk who temporary visited Tampralipta, in what is now Tamluk in the 5th century AD.
The first recorded Chinese settler in India is Tong Achew, a trader who landed near Budge Budge in the late 18th century. Achew set up a sugar cane plantation along with a sugar factory. Hence the word “chini” the Bengali word for “sugar” comes from this reference.
Achew brought in a band of Chinese workers to work in his plantation and factory. This was the first Chinese settlement in India. The place came to be named as Achipur, after Tong Achew.
Alas the community which gave us fantastic shoes, carpentry, sugar and bit to mention their ever popular cuisine is dwindling now to a mere 200 heads.
Their temples still stand tall and very often seve as community centres.
Yet they are largely stacked away… almost lost amidst the overpowering hustle bustle of the precinct.
Sohini Pyne, a young architect was assigned a project by World Monument Fund to focus on the monuments of Tirettabazar. Friends Vibha Mitra and Navpreet Arora helped her develop this through Own The Past OTP initiative bringing on board schools which researched the area and curating walks taking visitors to the Chinese temples and monuments of this area. This finally culminated in an exhibition at the Nam Soon Temple where the schools set up stalls and there were lantern making workshops etc.
Projects and initiatives like these help focu awareness of an inherent part of our culture and heritage. The contribution of settlers that has enriched us all . As the community dwindles in numbers and their monuments need upkeep, what can #WeThePeople do to protect what is now Our commonly owned legacy?
The areas need to be cleaned, the infrastructure bettered.
If only we appreciated that these communities are a part of the richness of our own history and inheritance.
Kamlalika Bose
The real treasure of Calcutta are its people — who love, respect and protect its ethnic diversity and plurality — as an important cornerstone of the city. Today this was reinforced once again!
Was elated to be invited as a special guest to the World Monuments Fund Watch Day event — where young and enthused school groups and their mentors, displayed final research projects on cultural practices and traditions of the Calcutta Chinese.
Was delighted to share, with the young minds, the journey we undertook, a decade ago, to revitalize this historic neighborhood through The Cha Project. And so rewarding to see the seeds we sowed — have been carefully nurtured by the community, despite setbacks and challenges — and carried forward with new energy and enthusiasm by Sohini, Vibha and Navpreet through Own The Past OTP.