Thursday, December 18, 2014

Invitation & Wishes


" TWTC Kolkata wishes you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2015 ! ”


Invitation to work with Taiwan, Your partner to "Make in India"


TWTC KOLKATA – NEWSLETTER VOL. 10

A.           TWTC KOLKATA ACTIVITIES IN EAST & NORTH-EAST INDIA

a.      West Bengal Global Business Summit - Bengal Leads 2015 : Link

Government of West Bengal is organising a Bengal Global Business Summit – Bengal Leads 2015 on 7th and 8th January 2015. Taiwan Companies are inviting to attend this Summit. Some leading Taiwan companies already responded to attend.

b.      Taiwan’s prestigious top ranking National Tsing Hua University (Website) visits West Bengal and Assam on 10th through 12th December, 2014:

NTHU AVP Chao accompanied by Director of TWTC Mr. Tu & colleague Ms. Elizabeth visited IIT Kharagpur on 10th December. Prospective discussion on singing MOU, summer internship programs, dual degree programs and others were discussed and are being considered.

NTHU President Hocheng visited Kolkata Jadavpur University on 11th December with the same prospective and had a fruitful meeting too. President Hocheng also talked about prospective to begin a Mandarin language course in Kolkata. NTHU already has 4 such tie ups in Delhi but none in Kolkata yet.

NTHU President Hocheng singed MOU with IIT Guwahati, Assam on 12th December.

B.      UPCOMING EVENTS IN TAIWAN

a.      Upcoming Taiwan International Trade Exhibition Shows - March 2015 - June 2015:

International Trade Show
Date
TIMTOS (Taipei International Machine Tool Show)
3-8 March,2015
TIOS (Taiwan Int’l Orchid Show)
6-16 March,2015
Taipei CYCLE (Taipei International Cycle Show)
18-21 March 2015

TAISPO (Taipei International Sporting Goods Show)
SPOMODE (Taipei Int’l Sports Textile & Accessory Expo)
DiWas (Taiwan Int’l Diving and Water Sports Show)
TILS (Taiwan Int’l Lighting Show)
25-28 March,2015
LED Taiwan
Taipei AMPA (Taipei Int’l Auto Parts & Acessories Show)
8-11 April, 2015
AutoTronics Taipei ( Taipei Int’l Automobile Electronics Show)
Tuning & Car Care Taiwan (Taipei Int’l Auto Tuning and Repair Show)
EV Taiwan (Taiwan Int’l Electric Vehicle show)
MOTORCYCLE TAIWAN (Taiwan Int’l  Motorcycle Parts & Accessories show)
Giftionery Taipei (Taipei Int’l Gift & Stationery Show)
23-26 April, 2015
TAIWAN SOUVENIR
TAIPEI 2015 - 30th Asian International Stamp Exhibition
24-28 Apr,2015
YODEX ( the 34th Int’l Young Designers’ Exhibition)
1-4 May, 2015
COMPUTEX TAIPEI (Taipei Int’l Information Technology Show)
2-6 June,2015

For Details &
Registration, please  revert to us by email/Fax.
[Incentives Applicable -Limited Resources- Conditions Apply.]

b.      Other International Events & Procurement meetings in Taiwan:

§  SOURCING TAIWAN:

We welcome all qualified buyers to attend Sourcing Taiwan to serve as a trade link between global buyers and top-rated Taiwanese suppliers. It is an international procurement event. For details please email me.

Companies qualify to apply if you have a minimum USD 5 Million Turnover.
Incentives will be available(Conditions Apply*)
§  TAIPEI INT’L CYCLE EXHIBITION:
TAIPEI CYCLE 2015 will again be held in conjunction with the Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO) 2015, which is expected to attract over 10,000 foreign buyers altogether. 17% of all buyers visited both shows in 2014, shopping for all things sports including fitness, outdoor, and water sports equipment conveniently in one trip.
C.        INDUSTRIAL & ECONOMIC NEWS:

a.        Taiwan Bicycle Industry Supplies Hi-End Parts to the World:
Taiwan export of bicycle parts for first three quarters (January through September) of 2014 grew 12.66%.
Taiwan Bicycle Industry Export statistics (January to September of 2013 and 2014)
Year
Jan. to Sept. 2013
Jan. to Sept. 2014
Growth Rate
Total Bicycle Exports by volume (million/units)
2.85
2.67
-6.24%
Total Bicycle Exports by value (USD billion
12.26
12.17
-0.75%
Average unit price (USD
430.51
455.70
5.85%
Main Parts Export ValueUSD 100 million
6.62
7.46
12.66%
Combined Total Value of Bicycle and Parts Exports (USD 100 millions)

Saturday, December 6, 2014

The Great Wall of China


A new 3D Film titled ‘The Great Wall of China’ was inaugurated at Birla Industrial and Technological Museum (BITM) on October 29, 2014.
BITM is a centre under National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India. Dr. (Mrs.) Sashi Panja, Minister of State, Dept. of Child Development, Women and Social Welfare  inaugurated the new film show. Shri A. S. Manekar, Dy. Director General, NCSM, Greg Pedro, Assistant Public Affairs Officer and Sk. E. Islam, Director BITM  were also present among other dignitaries.

This highly exciting and greatly enjoyable 3D film on ‘The Great Wall of China’ is a must see for students and general public. Through awe inspiring animation and 3D effect, the eight minute film gives the audience a first hand experience of one of the most spectacular wonders of the world.

The 3D film show is a regular feature of BITM and is done every hour from 12 noon onwards for general public. However, for students the show may be arranged any time as per their request. The museum remains open from 10:00 am to 5:30 pm on all days of the year except Holi and Diwali.



BIRLA INDUSTRIAL & TECHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM
19A Gurusaday Road, Kolkata 700019.

Phone : 2289 2815, 2287 7241 / 42 / 43.

Fax : 2290 6102
E-mail : director@bitm.gov.in


BIRLA INDUSTRIAL & TECHNOLOGICAL MUSEUM, a unit under National Council of Science Museums, the parent body of all the science Centres / Museums in India.

www.bitmcal.org




Thursday, November 20, 2014

India & Taiwan



" TWTC Kolkata engine to promote trade between India and Taiwan "  



A.          UPCOMING ACTIVITIES IN EAST & NORTH-EAST INDIA

a.      November, 17th to 18th  Ms. Elizabeth Lee Meeting in Ranchi, Jharkhand with:
Jharkhand Department of Industries.
Jharkhand Chemists & Druggists Association.
Swastik Group.
Jharkhand Technology Pvt. Ltd.
Central Coalfields Limited.
Heavy Engineering Corp. Ltd.

b.      November, 25th to 27th  Mr. Tu Fu Han Meeting in Gangtok, Sikkim with :
MSME Gangtok, Sikkim.
Building and housing dept. Govt. of Sikkim
Hon’ble Minister Healthcare, Human Services and Family, Welfare and Animal Husbandry, Livestock  Fisheries & Veterinary Services Departments.
SIMFED - Sikkim State Co-operative Supply and Marketing Federation ltd.

B.     Government Of West Bengal Visit Taiwan:

a.        MSME Department:
MSME Department, Govt. of West Bengal Visit Taiwan to project west Bengal in Taiwan and inviting Taiwan Textile, Leather Cluster, foundry industry to invest in West Bengal.

b.      IT & Electronics Department:
IT & Electronics Department, Govt. of West Bengal Visit Taiwan to Promote West Bengal IT Industry and inviting Taiwan ICT and ESDM Industry to invest in West Bengal.



C.      UPCOMING EVENTS IN TAIWAN

Upcoming Taiwan International Trade Exhibition Shows ( March 2015 - June 2015 ) :

International Trade Show
Date
TIMTOS (Taipei International Machine Tool Show)
3-8 March,2015
TIOS (Taiwan Int’l Orchid Show)
6-16 March,2015
Taipei CYCLE (Taipei International Cycle Show)
18-21 March 2015

TAISPO (Taipei International Sporting Goods Show)
SPOMODE (Taipei Int’l Sports Textile & Accessory Expo)
DiWas (Taiwan Int’l Diving and Water Sports Show)
TILS (Taiwan Int’l Lighting Show)
25-28 March,2015
LED Taiwan
Taipei AMPA (Taipei Int’l Auto Parts & Acessories Show)
8-11 April, 2015
AutoTronics Taipei ( Taipei Int’l Automobile Electronics Show)
Tuning & Car Care Taiwan (Taipei Int’l Auto Tuning and Repair Show)
EV Taiwan (Taiwan Int’l Electric Vehicle show)
MOTORCYCLE TAIWAN (Taiwan Int’l  Motorcycle Parts & Accessories show)
Giftionery Taipei (Taipei Int’l Gift & Stationery Show)
23-26 April, 2015
TAIWAN SOUVENIR
TAIPEI 2015 - 30th Asian International Stamp Exhibition
24-28 Apr,2015
YODEX ( the 34th Int’l Young Designers’ Exhibition)
1-4 May, 2015
COMPUTEX TAIPEI (Taipei Int’l Information Technology Show)
2-6 June,2015

For  Details  &  Registration :  Please Fill the ‘Trade Inquiry Form’ , and revert to us by  email / Fax.
[ Incentives Applicable -Limited Resources- Conditions Apply ]

 


E.      INDUSTRIAL NEWS:

a.      Taiwan's Teng Hung-chi awarded world's most outstanding inventor

Taiwanese inventor Teng Hung-chi, who has been dubbed "Taiwan's Thomas Edison," was    honored in Osijek, Croatia Sunday (Taipei time) as the world's most outstanding inventor .More

      b.  Taiwan's Machinery Export Surges 8.2% YoY in Jan.-Apr., 2014

According to the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI), in the Jan.-Apr. period the island exported US$6.4 billion worth of machinery, up 8.2% year on year (YoY), thanks partly to a surge in shipments of tools to mainland China in April. That month alone, Taiwan's overall machinery exports totaled US$1.7 billion, up 6.7% from April 2013. More

CONTACT US:
Taipei World Trade Center, Kolkata Office.
Apeejay House, Block " C", Ground Floor,
15, Park Street Kolkata-16.
Tel: +91-33-4004-2797/96.
Fax: +91-33-4004-2798.
Email: kolkata@taitra.org.tw

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Chinese Language Analyst




  Appended is the job description for the position of “Financial Language Analyst” in the  “Content Collections” department

FactSet Fundamentals Team collects financial statements of Public and Private (US only) companies across the continent. The team sources the company filings from various sources like stock exchanges, company websites, regulatory body & third party vendors. We extract & analyze the data from financial statement like Balance Sheet, Income Statement & Cash flow statement of the company. Also, the team collects the textual data like Business Activities, Officers, Shareholder, industry classification and etc.


Some interesting trivia about FactSet:
  The Company is headquartered in the United States and is recognized as a leader in its field.
  Our services are used by the top 10 global investments banks and 95 of the top 100 asset managers.
The rapidly growing company has offices in 30 locations across 14 countries. Prominent Offices, US, London, Paris, Fontainebleau, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Milan, Sydney, Hong Kong, Philippines, Dubai & India.
FactSet has been listed as one of Forbes’ “200 Best Small Companies”, Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For", and Business Week's "Best Places to Launch a Career."
For further information about the Company, please visit: http://www.factset.com/careers

JOB LOCATION : HYDERABAD

 Shift Timings :  Rotational Shifts (includes night shifts)


 Krishna Reddy B     Recruiting Specialist,   Strategic Resources

kbathula@factset.com   T +91-80088-85627   F +91-40-4455-7099
  FactSet Systems India Pvt Ltd.


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

First Prize



"From Border to Border" has won the first prize of the Taiwan Competition, Women Make Waves Film Festival

第二十一屆「台灣國際女性影展」今晚舉行「光榮時刻:台灣競賽獎」頒獎典禮暨影展閉幕典禮,以記錄印度加爾各答中國城及華人生活為題的「邊界移動兩百年」獲「光榮時刻:台灣競賽獎」首獎,動畫短片「櫛髮」及實驗短片「小團圓記」則獲得特獎。

台灣紀錄片「邊界移動兩百年」以印度加爾各答多元族群移民為故事主軸,導演鍾適芳用當地生活影像與多種族群語言,傳達移民者對當地政治、經濟、種族、文化等面向的態度與看法。評審團一致認為該片「傳達了創作者兼具深度及廣度的視野,從家族、種族、國族、性別、世代及歷史的多重角度,帶領觀眾了解鮮為人知的華人移民社區,並且看見宏觀歷史世代的複雜性。」

女性影展競賽首獎「邊界移動兩百年」導演鍾適芳(左)與評審范情(右)。
                      圖/女性影展提供


                    

Saturday, September 6, 2014

中秋节歌 Moon Festival Song



圆圆的月亮 The Round Moon (Children Version) by Thomas Chen (Original )



 圆圆的月亮 The Round Moon (Thomas Chen's Version) Original 



Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A P O L O G I S E ! ! !


Time to apologise to the Chinese of Assam’s Makum

Chinese School in Makum

On 19 November 1962, on the last day of China's India war, where we got the kind of drubbing that the Indians have been receiving in Old Blighty and Down Under consistently, Assam's police and Indian military personnel swept into Chinese neighbourhoods and the homes of Chinese living in India.

These were people who had been born here, were Indian citizens or married to Indians. They were gruffly ordered to get into or pushed into waiting jeeps and vehicles and driven to local police stations and eventually to trains. All this time, hapless, confused and humiliated, they kept asking, "Where are you taking us? Why are we here?" or "What do you want from us?" only to receive hostile silences or at times a helpless shrug from local policemen who wanted to but could not help them.

Those who reached the train station late were left behind. Thus parents were separated from their children, husbands from wives, siblings and friends from each other. It is an abomination, a horror that we have refused to face up to over the decades, hiding it not just under the carpet but wiping it off all histories. Or are there still some secret notes and notings, buried in some dusty and hidden files of the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Defence that tell the story? Can these be dug out by some diligent and resourceful researcher or reporter or conscientious official and put in the public domain?

On that unexpected winter train journey — and November nights are cold in the desert — food, water, sheets or blankets, they rolled across the country to an internment camp in Deoli, Rajasthan. After a few days, a large group was sent to Kolkata and from there, in three ships, transported to China, a land they did not know.

Fifty years later, as our news media bristles with hostile reports about China, we are silent about the atrocity committed on a defenceless minority whose only crime was that they bore Chinese names.

   

n her powerful book, Makum, the scholar and novelist Rita Choudhury brings out the pain, horror and tragedy of those lost years. Written in Assamese and now being translated into English by the feminist publishing house, Zubaan, the book traces the history of this forgotten and shameful chapter in the history of free India. It is seen as extremely fashionable to do a spot of China-bashing these days, whether about Chinese threats to our borders, to our economy, to our environment security or to our conventional security concerns. But our bellicosity does not address the fact that a chunk of land in Arunachal Pradesh remains in Chinese hands: Sumdorong Chu, which the Chinese seized in 1986 and on which they built a helipad, triggering a confrontation that put some 400,000 soldiers on both sides against each other, raising fears about a military escalation. Luckily that abated.

But 50 years after they were externed from Makum town in Assam's Tinsukia district (Makum is a town in the area) and other parts of the region, our Indians of Chinese origin still live in sadness, forgotten by many and virtually discarded by the Centre. Dip Bhuyan, a young filmmaker, has put together a moving narrative of this lost community, who weep and speak, not in anger, but in sadness from their homes in Assam where a handful still live and in China where the "deportees" were packed off, caught between two Asian giants and two worlds. They still speak and write Assamese.

The Divided Soul traces their stories and stirs a sense of sadness mixed with anger that the victims of 1962 have not been rehabilitated or compensated. Perhaps local politicians are too scared of the China factor or being seen as "soft" on security issues to speak openly about it. Why are human rights groups and independent civil society organisations not talking about it either? We are talking about barely a few hundred such families in the Northeast, perhaps a few thousand more in Kolkata and other cities.

It is time to face the past and make amends. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, besmirched by dirt, would do well to acknowledge the harm done to one of our tiniest minorities, who were pawns in a battle between two giants. It could help restore the dignity of both sides and a measure of trust. It could restore a balance to history.

 by
SANJOY HAZARIKA


Wednesday, August 27, 2014

From Taiwan



From Taiwan – Inspiring India with the best !

TAITRA


SOLE TAIWAN INDUSTRIAL TRADE SHOW
EMMA EXPO
BANGALORE   INDIA   2014
SEPTEMBER  11-13



Emma Expo India is a 3 day event being held from 11th September to the 13th September 2014 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) in Bangalore, India.

 This event showcases products like Machine Parts & Accessories, Automobiles Parts , Tools, Cutting Tools, Molds and Other Related Equipment , Pneumatic Tires & Tubes, Electric Wire and Cable, Industrial Plants And Machinery, Wood Working Machinery, Electrical Equipment, Battery, Cell, Charger, and Module, Computer & Peripherals Products, Engine Parts, Motorcycles, Drive Information System, Sundries, Adhesives, Manual Hand Tools, Industrial Computer and Peripheral Products, Car Accessories , Instrument and Apparatus for Demonstration and more etc. in the Automotive, Electronics & Electrical Goods, Plant, Machinery & Equipment industries.





TAIWAN DELEGATION  AT  THE TAJ BENGAL 
 KOLKATA  INDIA  2014
 SEPTEMBER 15
 SINGLE  BUSINESS  DAY  MEET



To Explore Business opportunities with Taiwan Companies on OEM ODM basis or per your requirements please come to visit our Taiwan Suppliers coming to Kolkata for a Single Day Business Meet.


In 2013 TAITRA organized a Taiwan Delegation of 30 Companies to meet around 250 Local Companies with a whooping fruitful conduct of 600 Meetings at The Oberoi Grand Hotel – Kolkata.


Following the Success of last year’s Taiwan Delegation visiting India we do hope that this year we will have more people coming to attend this exclusive meetings!


This year Kolkata Taj Bengal, 2014, 15th September a Taiwan Delegation of 9 Exclusive Companies will be open to all Business Opportunities & Prospective Procurement for a single day one-to-one business meet!


We hope you will be interested to meet them. We have allotted 20 minutes for each meeting.


If interested in others also, Please let me know which are the companies you are interested to meet and what is your *preferred time*? Please Confirm. I will insert it in our Meet chart accordingly.


*timing allotment will be on a first come first serve availability*



Ann Elizabeth Lee
Taipei World Trade Center, Kolkata Office.
Apeejay House, Block " C", Ground Floor,
15, Park Street Kolkata-16.
Tel: +91-33-4004-2796/97.
Fax: +91-33-4004-2798.
Email: kolkata@taitra.org.tw


Monday, August 4, 2014

L O V E - D E V O T I O N


FINDING SAMUEL LOWE  :  FROM HARLEM TO CHINA
“People don’t know there’s a long history of the black Chinese,” says former TV Executive, Journalist , entrepreneur and filmmaker  Paula Madison (  Paula Williams Madison was born in Harlem, New York in 1952 to parents Elrick Williams and Nell Lowe Williams ) .

In tracing her roots through Jamaica,  Paula Madison set out to find a missing link – her Chinese grandfather and long-lost relatives across the Pacific. She turned that journey into a fascinating documentary, “Finding Samuel Lowe: From Harlem to China” about heritage and family .
 
 Three successful black siblings from Harlem discover their heritage by searching for clues about their long-lost Chinese grandfather, Samuel Lowe.

Retired NBC Universal executive Paula Williams Madison and her brothers, Elrick and Howard Williams, were raised in Harlem by their Chinese Jamaican mother, Nell Vera Lowe. Nell encouraged them to realize the rags-to-riches American dream, resulting in their growth from welfare recipients to wealthy entrepreneurs. In order to fulfill a promise to their mother to connect to her estranged father's people, they embarked on journey to uncover their ancestral roots.

The three traveled to the Toronto Hakka Chinese Conference where they connected to members of the Chinese Jamaican community. As the mystery of their grandfather's life unfolds, the trio travels to Jamaica, learning that their grandfather had a life there similar to their own, starting with humble beginnings in Mocho, Clarendon Parish, and ending with successful business ownership in the affluent St. Ann's Bay. But in 1933, he left Jamaica, returning to China for good.

Taking family tree research to an epic proportion, the siblings and 16 of their family members travel to two Chinese cities, ShenZhen and GuangZhou. Together, they visit their family's ancestral village, finding documented lineage that dates their family back 3,000 years to 1006 BC. The trip culminates in an emotional and unforgettable family reunion with 300 of their grandfather's Chinese descendants.

At its heart, this is a story about familial love and devotion that transcends race, space and time.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Friday, July 11, 2014

BELONGING ! !


Tuesday , July 8 , 2014 , page 11


GETTING  PAST  THAT  YEAR  OF  BITTER  MEMORIES

The Cha Project, to restore Calcutta’s Old China Town

(From top)The interior of the Sea Ip shrine, A modern version of a hand-written community newspaper , The former chamber of the Chinese dentists’ association , A closed municipal vat near the Toong On Church

The breakfast served in Calcutta’s Tiretta Bazar — ostensibly the city’s older, original China Town — is truly appetizing. But the stories I was told during my visit by its Chinese residents were distinctly unpalatable. Dominic, who runs a modest store near-by, recounted his mother-in-law’s banishment to an internment camp in Deoli in Rajasthan. A resident of Shillong, she was forcibly put on a train by Indian security personnel in 1962, the year of India’s disastrous war with China. Dominic’s description of the woman’s terror is matter-of-fact. During the long journey in the cold (it was November), the bona fide Chinese residents — most of them had been born in India or had married into Indian families — were denied blankets. Each time the train stopped at a station, threatening mob chanted racial slogans. The years in Deoli, the last of the detainees were released only in 1967, were spent in physical hardship. The Chinese people were forced to take up agriculture to survive, even though most of them had owned small businesses in cities. A large number of the families were later deported to China. Unable to integrate themselves into an alien land and culture — weather, food, dress, nothing felt like home — the displaced population emigrated to Canada in search of a better life.

That morning, Lin — Georgie to his friends and a consummate chef — also shared his knowledge of the difficult years that followed the War. He had grown up listening to stories of discrimination against Calcutta’s Chinese community: Indian companies got rid of Chinese employees on flimsy grounds while Chinese businesses — shoe-shops , for instance — were crippled by militant trade unionism.

Another woman, a teacher who had been listening to my conversation with Tiretta Bazar’s residents, sternly asked me my year of birth, the reason for my visit, and then said, “What would you know about not belonging?

I didn’t know much, but I wanted to find out.

The truth is that like most other Calcuttans, my knowledge of the city’s Chinese population is limited to Indianized Chinese food — I was treated to dimsum soup and pork balls in Tiretta Bazar— and the boisterous New Year dragon dance. Indifference and ignorance have contributed to our collective apathy towards the community’s troubles: the dwindling population (Calcutta’s Chinese residents number around 2,000, say unconfirmed estimates), low literacy and employment rates, the ruinous state of Chinese places of worship (a municipal vat lying within metres of the Toong On Church was shut after sustained agitation). But the Cha Project, a restoration initiative that aims to conserve Tiretta Bazar with generous help from Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, the Singapore-based Buzz Media and, surprisingly, the state tourism department, has now been conceived to plug the gaps in the city’s knowledge of the Chinese community. A detailed project report is being drafted to chalk the outlines to restore and preserve, among other places, a cemetery, old temples as well as the iconic Nanking restaurant. A heritage centre, conceived of as a repository of Chinese artefacts, has also been planned as part of the project. There are plans to revive such traditional Chinese crafts as shoe-making. Thirty-odd Chinese-owned shoe-shops survive in Calcutta, and their mass-produced stock has few buyers in a liberalized retail trade dominated by global manufacturers. Care is also being taken to design the project in a manner that would benefit the local economy. Vendors who sell breakfast in Tiretta Bazar would be provided with stalls, carts and clean water.

Redesigning public spaces to renew their organic ties with a community’s history and culture remain central tenets of modern conservation. In this respect, the Cha Project isn’t quite original. Yet its emphasis on incentivizing heritage conservation for the stake holders — in this instance, the Chinese community — underscores its importance. In a culture that refuses to prioritize conservation, thereby ignoring history and the lessons it holds for us, the only way to preserve the past, perhaps, is by transforming the collective responsibility of protection into a profitable enterprise. Incidentally, this model of entrepreneurial conservation has been successfully practised to restore Chinese enclaves in other parts of Southeast Asia. Kuala Lumpur, for instance, has a bustling area selling Chinese food and knick-knacks. Premised on the philosophy of sustainable development, such projects strive to transform neglected urban heritage zones into “mixed-use” public spaces, comprising restaurants, museums and outlets for performance arts — each agency serving as a prop to educate visitors about the local community’s history and cultural practices. If the Cha Project were to succeed, the morning market in Tiretta Bazar could metamorphose into an aesthetically designed lane selling delicious, hygienic food. The restoration of the surrounding decaying temples would also mean that greedy Calcuttans as well as those with a serious interest in the city’s syncretic history would flock to this stretch. Such visits, in turn, would help regenerate the local economy. Securing the livelihoods of food vendors, artisans and small traders would, theoretically, preserve an eco-system comprising distinct forms of architecture, cultural practices and trades.

Such a participatory approach has additional benefits. First, it democratizes conservation by limiting the role of the State to that of a facilitator. Second, and more important, conservation is consequently seen as a public, and not an esoteric, engagement.

But incentivizing conservation has its own pitfalls.The prioritizing of economic regeneration often leads to selective representation and embellishment of community history. The Cha Project’s laudable intention of preserving and presenting the best — in other words, what is deemed most attractive for consumers — of what the Chinese community has to offer reveals the dilemma inherent to sustainable conservation. Should not the stories of deprivation, deportation and subsequent disenfranchisement of Calcutta’s Chinese people be accommodated in a project meant to record the history of the community? The wilful exclusion of the unedifying aspects of the community’s relationship with the city would bolster the dangerous proposition of conservation being divested of the mechanisms to redress past injustices.

Interestingly, the resistance to make history representative can also stem from the community itself. Most of the Chinese residents I spoke to seemed anxious to ensure that the conservation project adequately reflects the community’s adaptability and industriousness — its two most prized qualities. But my enquiries concerning the existence of opium dens and the shadowy links with the underworld were met with silence or denial.

The community’s enthusiasm to disseminate its virtues, while concealing the faultlines, betrays its nervousness about being demonized in the eyes of the majoritarian group. This reiterates the fact that the reconstruction of community history through institutional means is, inevitably, a political exercise in which the balance of power is decidedly tilted in favour of the majoritarian community. The challenge for the Cha Project is not only to make conservation profitable. Its legacy will be judged by its ability to record truthfully the sources of tension between the city and a people who wanted to belong to it.

Economic and cultural marginalization of the Chinese people has contributed to the sense of alienation that prevails in old China Town. The State’s indifference towards redressing the horrors perpetrated on the community has also compounded its estrangement. Therefore, it will not be enough to compensate the wrongs of the past by preserving a heritage space. The reintegration of the community depends on the State’s willingness to make it visible not only on the city’s economic and cultural map but also in the sphere of education. The inclusion of the community’s contributions to Calcutta, as well as its present problems — migration, worrisome demographic indicators, and so on — in the official curriculum is critical to an attempt to dissipate this sense of alienation. The preservation of derelict edifices as well as language is necessary to restore the community’s sense of dignity. There is thus a case of reimagining the idea of heritage conservation itself. It should no longer be deemed only as a complex exercise involving the preservation of endangered architectural forms. It has to be thought of as a holistic enterprise that must harmonize the difficult, and often contradictory, demands of architecture, aesthetics, education, culture, economics and justice.

Its conceptual limitations notwithstanding, the Cha Project can be an important milestone in a city that is yet to develop a professional and empathetic outlook towards conservation. The success of the project may provide the necessary impetus to other public-private partnerships to restore all that is being threatened with permanent effacement. Hopefully, such initiatives would also expand their field of enquiry to preserve the architectural legacies and cultural practices of indigenous migrant communities — Marwaris, Biharis, Punjabis, Odiyas — that have enriched the city as a living space. Some such segments, having tasted affluence through the real estate business, pose the greatest threat to older parts of the city like Tiretta Bazar. The need to educate them about the importance of preserving and regenerating public spaces and their affiliated histories should be treated as an urgent, and public, responsibility.

Uddalak Mukherjee