The local Chinese community celebrates Kali Puja at a temple built by its ancestors.
China Town, located on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, offers a heady mix of sights and smells. As one walks by the dozens of eateries, ladling out platters of traditional Chinese delicacies and enters the more peaceful alleys, one is presented with a unique sight — a Chinese Kali temple built in a typically oriental style and quite unlike a conventional Hindu temple. This temple, which is a reflection of the city’s cosmopolitan nature, has been celebrating Kali puja with strict adherence to Hindu rituals for more than half a century. Complete with a Chinese pagoda, the temple houses the deity along with her consort, Shiva.
“Every year, we celebrate Kali puja in this temple, which has been built and maintained by the Chinese community,” says Cheni Sheng, a 50-year-old resident of China Town who is the caretaker of the temple. The Kali puja was initially celebrated on Diwali night according to the Bengali customs. The deity would be kept in a temporary structure or a pandal. Later, when the temple was built with the help of the funds raised by the community, the idols found a permanent space.
“I have been organising the puja for so long now that I can rattle off the name of every ingredient and accessory required for the rituals from memory,” says Sheng who has been buying these accessories for years from the local Dashakarma Bhandar, the shop specialising in such items. The puja, usually held at midnight, brings the entire Chinese community together. A priest, well versed with tantrik rituals is invited from Midnapore district especially for the occasion.
So does Kali get to taste traditional Chinese delicacies by way of prasada or offering? “Rituals are a matter of great sensitivity and we have ensured that they are observed properly,” explains Sheng. “We haven’t tried to dilute the essence of the offering by serving noodles instead of khichuri bhog.”
Sheng believes that the origins of the puja can be traced to the days of British Raj when the Chinese migrated to India from southern China and established themselves as successful entrepreneurs by starting restaurants, beauty parlours and tanneries. “When our ancestors made India their home, they wanted to integrate with the Bengali community. Perhaps, this was an effort to create a symbolic sense of belonging with the locals,” elaborates Sheng. However, he is apprehensive about the future of the puja and similar cultural activities. “The younger generation of Chinese-Indians are more in sync with the western culture and don’t take much interest in these activities,” he laments.
The Bengali society has remained aloof from the efforts of the local Chinese community. “Perhaps it is this sense of exclusion that has resulted in the detachment of the younger generations,” says Sheng. “Although we possess Indian passports, we are treated as outsiders,” he adds. In the last decade or so, there has been an exodus of the Chinese-Indians to the US and Canada. But some of the older Chinese families refuse to let go of the friendly accord that their ancestors had struck with the Bengalis. The puja has now become an integral part of the neighbourhood. Sheng hopes that like each year, this year’s puja too will be a grand affair.
