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Calcutta Mosaic: Essays and Interviews on the Minority Communities of Calcutta
A city is more than its buildings and streets. A city is the people who live, work, and play in it and make it their own. This book brings together original essays and interviews which trace the history of the peoples in the city of Calcutta. Those who came and stayed; why they did so; and how they contributed in building the city. Once celebrated as the second city of the British Empire after London and more recently derided as the dying city, Calcutta is simultaneously associated with intellectual creativity, processions and palaces and a unique way of claiming the outsider as its own. This collection brings together the stories of the Armenians, Chinese, Sikhs, 'South Indians', Bohra Muslims and other communities who have come and created this wondrous mosaic, the city of Calcutta.
276 pages, Hardcover
First published July 1, 2009
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August 30, 2022
Interesting overview on the different communities of Kolkata and much more fleshed-out than the tidbits one usually comes across in news articles. The first chapter explores why communities tend to cluster where they do, in particular localities; and also how with liberalization they are less location-centric and have spread out all over the city. It is a compendium of essays- sometimes personal reminisces, sometimes interviews and summaries of the various communities in Kolkata- the Armenians, the Jews, the Sindhis, the Chinese communities, the Anglo-Indians, the Biharis, the Agrahari Sikhs, the Dawoodi Bohra Muslims, the South Indians, and single women outsiders.
The Armenians were the conduit through which British rule was established and a trading community who had been encouraged to settle in India by Akbar. They had enormous successes in trade and still own many hotels and various neighbourhoods are named after them. The community have however mostly emigrated today, but still hold on to their links to the city. The Jewish community became part of the colonial elite and were initially mostly Baghdadi Jews. This community too has mostly emigrated, but have left their mark in the various synagogues in the city.
The Sindhis' syncretic culture was explored, mixing elements of Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. After Partition as the community spread out all over India, the basic unifying language began to decline in importance. The Sindhi Hindus in India have turned to a right-wing version of Hinduism to assuage their grief at this event.
There is a fascinating chapter on the Bengali-Muslims and their social and political evolution in colonial Calcutta, to the various upcountry migrants that have kept coming since the city was established. Bengali was initially held to be a language, which due to its pantheistic nature-oriented roots was an insufficient vehicle for Islamic ideas. Hence, many Bengali Muslims adopted the Urdu language and the ashraf high culture of North India and many students had to learn 5 different languages- Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Bengali and English- an extraordinary pressure. Later, with the rise of separatist sentiment (especially the creation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan), this declined as a middle-class began to take shape. The Chinese community have also had much influence on the city and are internally very diverse- identifying with various regions and religions. It is a quite conservative community and still speak an older version of the Chinese language than the mainland. They are quite a closed community mainly centred around Tangra and Chinatown. The Biharis as a community despite their long links to the city still maintain close relationships to their ancestral lands, are 'emotionally Bihari' as the interview puts it. The South Indians, although often lumped together as a category are really quite distinct, but by the third generation adopt themselves the easiest to local norms and often become indistinguishable. The young generations often do not even know the language, but the community(ies) have their own quirks- from an emphasis on regular ritual worship, music and dance from their native regions.
The Agrahari Sikhs are too a little-known but very interesting community, Sikhs from Bihar who follow the Nanak-panth but quite differently from their Punjabi colleagues. They consider themselves 'Sanatani Sikhs' and have adopted quite a few Hindu rituals to the chagrin of their Akali co-religionists. Gradually, the Agraharis were displaced from their prominent position in the city as political and economic power passed to the Punjabi Sikhs. The Dawoodi Bohra community is also fascinating and can perhaps be compared to the Amish in their strange mix of modernity and technology which deserves to be seen as an 'alternative modernity'. They are quite comfortable using modern tech for communication and recreation, and are known for their success in business, but pair that with absolute adherence even at the micro level to their leader, the Syedna. The author charts how the benefits of belonging may trump the desire for individuality, including a basic financial and social stability guaranteed to all members of the small community. This has also led to the fact that there seems to be a lack of unemployment, beggary, crime or fanaticism in this community. They speak an Arabized Gujarati known as Lisaan-ud-dawaat. The Anglo-Indians too are discussed with their own unique position in the city. There is an interesting comment by Gandhi about how the Anglo-Indian class could well have led the struggle for independence similar to the South American model, if they really wanted to. The community's emphasis on social life- partying etc. is explored as is their penchant for white-collar work. Their simultaneous privileges and denigration during the colonial period is discussed.
Chapter 12 explores the roots of the Bengal upper-caste Hindu middle-class, the dominant community's interaction with and stereotypes of the different communities, and their otherization in the interwar period. The author opines that after the basic instability the war brought, the vast immigration to the city, and the Bengali bhadrolok class's steady sidelining in Indian politics- the 'non-Bengali' Other began to be seen as a threat. It was a reponse to the Bhadrolok consensus in politics being broken nationally, which led to xenophobic anxieties of a 'Dying Race'. It is also quite strange to see how ethnic communities tend to stick to their previously familiar occupations, only branching out if absolutely necessary. The Chinese stick to the leather and restaurant industry, the Anglo-Indians to white-collar work whether in teaching or the corporate world. A major community missing in this compendium was the Kolkata Marwaris with their long history in the city, but the authors do point out other works in on the community. Other much more smaller communities like the Parsis and Nepalis are missing too, but nevertheless a good overview of this field.
The Armenians were the conduit through which British rule was established and a trading community who had been encouraged to settle in India by Akbar. They had enormous successes in trade and still own many hotels and various neighbourhoods are named after them. The community have however mostly emigrated today, but still hold on to their links to the city. The Jewish community became part of the colonial elite and were initially mostly Baghdadi Jews. This community too has mostly emigrated, but have left their mark in the various synagogues in the city.
The Sindhis' syncretic culture was explored, mixing elements of Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism. After Partition as the community spread out all over India, the basic unifying language began to decline in importance. The Sindhi Hindus in India have turned to a right-wing version of Hinduism to assuage their grief at this event.
There is a fascinating chapter on the Bengali-Muslims and their social and political evolution in colonial Calcutta, to the various upcountry migrants that have kept coming since the city was established. Bengali was initially held to be a language, which due to its pantheistic nature-oriented roots was an insufficient vehicle for Islamic ideas. Hence, many Bengali Muslims adopted the Urdu language and the ashraf high culture of North India and many students had to learn 5 different languages- Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Bengali and English- an extraordinary pressure. Later, with the rise of separatist sentiment (especially the creation of Bangladesh from East Pakistan), this declined as a middle-class began to take shape. The Chinese community have also had much influence on the city and are internally very diverse- identifying with various regions and religions. It is a quite conservative community and still speak an older version of the Chinese language than the mainland. They are quite a closed community mainly centred around Tangra and Chinatown. The Biharis as a community despite their long links to the city still maintain close relationships to their ancestral lands, are 'emotionally Bihari' as the interview puts it. The South Indians, although often lumped together as a category are really quite distinct, but by the third generation adopt themselves the easiest to local norms and often become indistinguishable. The young generations often do not even know the language, but the community(ies) have their own quirks- from an emphasis on regular ritual worship, music and dance from their native regions.
The Agrahari Sikhs are too a little-known but very interesting community, Sikhs from Bihar who follow the Nanak-panth but quite differently from their Punjabi colleagues. They consider themselves 'Sanatani Sikhs' and have adopted quite a few Hindu rituals to the chagrin of their Akali co-religionists. Gradually, the Agraharis were displaced from their prominent position in the city as political and economic power passed to the Punjabi Sikhs. The Dawoodi Bohra community is also fascinating and can perhaps be compared to the Amish in their strange mix of modernity and technology which deserves to be seen as an 'alternative modernity'. They are quite comfortable using modern tech for communication and recreation, and are known for their success in business, but pair that with absolute adherence even at the micro level to their leader, the Syedna. The author charts how the benefits of belonging may trump the desire for individuality, including a basic financial and social stability guaranteed to all members of the small community. This has also led to the fact that there seems to be a lack of unemployment, beggary, crime or fanaticism in this community. They speak an Arabized Gujarati known as Lisaan-ud-dawaat. The Anglo-Indians too are discussed with their own unique position in the city. There is an interesting comment by Gandhi about how the Anglo-Indian class could well have led the struggle for independence similar to the South American model, if they really wanted to. The community's emphasis on social life- partying etc. is explored as is their penchant for white-collar work. Their simultaneous privileges and denigration during the colonial period is discussed.
Chapter 12 explores the roots of the Bengal upper-caste Hindu middle-class, the dominant community's interaction with and stereotypes of the different communities, and their otherization in the interwar period. The author opines that after the basic instability the war brought, the vast immigration to the city, and the Bengali bhadrolok class's steady sidelining in Indian politics- the 'non-Bengali' Other began to be seen as a threat. It was a reponse to the Bhadrolok consensus in politics being broken nationally, which led to xenophobic anxieties of a 'Dying Race'. It is also quite strange to see how ethnic communities tend to stick to their previously familiar occupations, only branching out if absolutely necessary. The Chinese stick to the leather and restaurant industry, the Anglo-Indians to white-collar work whether in teaching or the corporate world. A major community missing in this compendium was the Kolkata Marwaris with their long history in the city, but the authors do point out other works in on the community. Other much more smaller communities like the Parsis and Nepalis are missing too, but nevertheless a good overview of this field.
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