The Anglo-Indians Of Kolkata
88The Anglo Indians
Over and over again, Indian cinema has explored the vast Diaspora of Anglo-Indian identity in India, either through the theme of the cinema or through its characters, and over and over again this minority ethnic group has made news — from Aparna Sen's portrayal of Miss Violet Stoneham in 36 Chowringhee Lane to the McNally's in Sanjay Leela Bansali's Black to the latest portrayal of the crumbling lives of the Anglo Indians in Anjan Dutt's Bow Barrack Forever.
Tracing the Origins
But who are the Anglo Indians? Where did they come from and why was such a name coined to describe their identity?
To define very simply, these are the group of people who are the results of mixed marriages between Indians and the British in the colonial India and were trained to the culture of both the ruler and the ruled. Though their ways of life more resembled with the English, they were somehow less accepted and more rejected by the colonial rulers. As a result, they started belonging nowhere, beginning a long history of loneliness and pathos as well as a desperate struggle to keep their cultural identity alive in an adverse world.
Anglo Indians of Kolkata
Though this community was scattered all over India, it is as old as the capital of colonial India itself. Job Charnock, the founder of Calcutta, himself fathered 3 children from his Indian wife. At one point of time, the Anglo-Indian community in Calcutta consisted of about 50,000 individuals, which outnumbered the English population there at that time. While talking about the Anglo Indians of Calcutta, the mention of Bow Barracks cannot be missed. Bow Barracks is the bustling Anglo India neighborhood in central Calcutta. Considered as one of the heritage buildings of Kolkata, Bow Barracks was originally built for the soldiers of the World War II. It later became the property of the Calcutta Improvement Society, and since then, it has been the home for hundreds of Anglo Indian families of Kolkata. Most Anglo Indian families that still live here are poor, who still hang on to their homes and their roots. The richer ones have migrated either abroad to United Kingdom, United States, or Australia, or are settled elsewhere in Kolkata.
The Vanishing Community
This almost vanishing community of Anglo Indians has been seen as an outgoing and sociable group of fun loving people, for whom fun and merriment in life through food, drinks, and social gatherings are most important. The celebrate Christmas, baptism, holy communions, and so forth regularly. Anglo-Indian celebrations can be mostly seen in the Grail and the Rangers Club, their popular hangout. The custom of sending kids to boarding schools for an all-round development was also very popular in the Anglo Indian community. The popular boarding schools in Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Nainital, Asansol, etc became popular mostly because of the transferable jobs of these people.
The Anglo Indians, after their retirement, mostly set up their homes in Calcutta, in rented houses in areas such as Dharamtolla, Ripon Street, Bow Bazaar, Royd Street, and the narrow shabby lanes of Free School Street. No matter how shabby the buildings seemed from outside, one look at the interiors would show clean and properly kept rooms, with vase of flowers on tables.
Conclusion
The saddest part is that the Anglo Indians are decreasing in number day by day and we desperately need to take some steps. As per K. C. Sen, the author of The Absolute Anglo Indian, today's "absolute Anglo Indians" will become tomorrow's "obsolete Anglo Indians," and that "tomorrow" is approaching perhaps too fast. To quote Kolkata-based film director Anjan Dutt, whose first as well as the latest film was on this Anglo Indian Community, "Anglo-Indians are rare species, yeh, I call them species, and we need to protect them."
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Hi Leena Kejriwal,
This is an interesting article.
Still, I am confused.
Do you mean that Anglo-Indias are not staying in this region and are moving to other countries, and that is why you call it obsolete?
What exactly can be done about it?
I really thank you for sharing ....
I love to get Anglo Indian frends. Pl write.
sendilip19@gmail.com
Tho I am Hindu by birth but grew up very much intermingled with Kolkata "Anglo-Indians" in the 1950-1970, neighborhood of old European Lane, studied in the Anglo Indian school (St. James on Lower Circular Rd-Jora Girja, where during my time the principals were Mr Chippendale/Mr Bird, had many friends and faces in memories...Castalo, Reginalds, Gordon, Daniel, Samuel to name the few...even tho I visit every year from USA since the last 40 yrs...I have lost all the connections and unable to find anyone from that era...I miss them...
Tho I am Hindu by birth but grew up very much intermingled with Kolkata "Anglo-Indians" in the 1950-1970, neighborhood of old European Lane, studied in the Anglo Indian school (St. James on Lower Circular Rd-Jora Girja, where during my time the principals were Mr Chippendale/Mr Bird, had many friends and faces in memories...Castalo, Reginalds, Gordon, Daniel, Samuel to name the few...even tho I visit every year from USA since the last 40 yrs...I have lost all the connections and unable to find anyone from that era...I miss them...akd56@hotmail.com
I love to have Anglo Indian friends from kolkata. I reside at south kolkata and I am in business.My email is gautam702004@yahoo.co.in
:(...............
I want to marry an anglo indian girl,it's been a lifelong dream of mine.They are just so adorable. :)
Hi I am a proud Anglo Indian and live in Australia. I have never forgotten or given up my Anglo Indian heritage. I studied at La Martinere College in Calcutta and grew up in Park Circus. My most favourite memories are eating Kati rolls at Nizams and Fleuries Cakes both are still in existence. There are still some school friends I would live to catch up with, one of whom is Christopher Wallington also Keith MacGowan and Maurice Morris. Another of my mates was Victor Chen. I often think of retiring in Kolkata and would love to know how easy or hard hat would be for some one born ther
To complete the above comment if you would like to chat with me either on Facebook or email me dougcummins55@gmail.com I would love to hear from you. Thank you and Best Wishes Doug Cummins
Hi Doug Cummins
I was born and brought up in Bangladesh but Calcutta as a city always fascinated me. I never lived there, except a number of short visits.
I'm an avowed reader of political history relating to the partition of India - the human cost and tragedies that came along pains me immensely.
I've always been interested migration stories,and oral history of small communities in the Indian subcontinent - an in particular communities like the Anglo Indians, Armenians or chinese in India.
Please reply if you like.
Regards
Sayed Chowdhury
Sydney, Australia
hi sayed ; migration is but natural since inception of human kind . indian subcontinebt is full odf stories of migration and settling other countries and then forgotten by their own people . like the Indetured labour of india (1838-1917)i have also got same intrest . lods fo thngs to say on that . want to discuss then come on gk.99@rediffmail.com
Hii sayed ; subcontinent is full of migartion right from 1838 till 1917 od indetured labour and then after . hwo u interested in i t
gk.99@rediffmail.com
Hii sayed ; subcontinent is full of migartion right from 1838 till 1917 od indetured labour and then after . hwo u interested in i t
gk.99@rediffmail.com
Gerard Fullinfaw 21 months ago
I am an Anglo Indian from Los angeles.
I would like to say that "Yes" The Anglo -Indian Community is vanishing here to in the west ,be it Australia,USA, etc as they have married out or their children get into the western way of things, accent also so "Yes" sad but the Anglo -Indian is a vanishing tribe all over the world.
Websites should be created and cultural events and so on to promote Anglo India food and marriages.
Many Anglo Indian girls prefer Hindu guys too Anglo Indian due to economic reasons.
So Anglo Indians abroad should be encouraged to marry Anglo Indian girls from India to keep the community going.
Likewise, Anglo India girls too should be arranged or encouraged to marry poor Anglo Indian guys to prevent them from marrying other communities.
Thanks Gerard, baltimilton@yahoo.com.au