Kolkata's Tiretta Bazaar Under WMF spotlight

World Monuments Fund calls for declaring Kolkata's Old China Town a historic district

External view of Sei Vui Temple and Voiling Club, Tiretta Bazaar, Kolkata. Credit: World Monuments Fund

Internal view of Sei Vui Temple and Voiling Club, Tiretta Bazaar, Kolkata. Credit: World Monuments Fund

Kolkata's Tiretta Bazaar, or the Old China Town, has found a place in the 2022 Watch, the biennial list by the World Monuments Fund (WMF).

The list focuses on heritage sites around the globe most in need of conservation and preservation. It is one of the 25 sites in the seminal and globally respected list recently released by the New York-based non-profit organization.

A place in the 2022 Watch indicates the neglect and degradation that a site has undergone over time, which Kolkata old-timers would testify to in the case of Tiretta Bazaar.

Today's visitor to the neighbourhood is likely to be greeted by jam-packed vehicles that turn the main street into an ugly snapshot that successfully veils its rich antecedents.

Tiretta Bazaar is one of the two China Towns in Kolkata; the other being the more famous and vibrant Tangra or the New China Town.

These make Kolkata the only city in India to boast of China Towns, which are an important feature of commercial hubs around the world, a testimony to the movement of Chinese migrants across the globe and the growth in Chinese trade.

Popularly known as Cheenapara by locals, Tiretta Bazaar first finds mention in a 1790 map of Calcutta and is possibly named after an Italian, Edward Tiretta, who owned several plots in the capital of the expanding British Raj. It started to take on a Chinese identity in the mid-18th century when the Chinese sailors and traders settled in this area, bringing their traditions, rituals and architectural styles. By the early 20th century, it became renowned for its handcrafted goods, especially leather goods.

"It's a small stretch of, by, and for the Chinese. Its most distinctive feature is its daily breakfast offering of Chinese food from 6 am to 9 am (it lasts longer on Sundays), but when this is over, it turns into a parking lot," said Manjit Singh Hoonjan, a Kolkata native who runs the Calcutta Photo Tours.

"It is still an adda — meeting place—for the Chinese, but it is no longer the same with the emigration of many third and fourth generation Chinese. Some shops continue to import their provisions from China and churn out authentic Chinese recipes, but the place has distinctly deteriorated; the stalls too have become less in numbers."

Hoonjan has often taken non-resident Chinese from different parts of the world on photo tours to Tiretta Bazaar, where they have been surprised to find Indian Chinese speaking better Mandarin than them.

"Tiretta Bazaar suffers from neglect and degraded urban spaces resulting from a lack of recognition and basic services such as regular trash collection," said Heritage conservationist Amita Baig, who is also the Executive Director, WMF India. "World Monuments Fund is calling for the local government to protect this neighbourhood, which is essential to ensuring its long-term vibrancy. This includes taking greater measures to improve street cleanliness, establish the area as a historic district, and sensitively manage development to preserve the unique character of Tiretta Bazaar.

Investing resources to address decaying structures and enhance public spaces in this marginalized community will contribute greatly to preserving the diverse, multicultural heritage of Kolkata. At the community level, we hope inclusion on the 2022 Watch inspires Tiretta Bazaar residents to further embrace their cultural traditions and ties to the neighbourhood. Highlighting the value of this community to the city of Kolkata is key to planning its future."

Baig quotes the example of the Pokfulam neighbourhood in Hong Kong, which was placed in the 2014 Watch by WMF, subsequently supporting the revival of the historic community and its structures dating back to 1886 when a Dairy Farm Group was established to provide fresh milk to Hong Kong.

Hopefully, the WMF focus on Tiretta Bazaar will help revitalize this rare, historic entity that has survived despite not-so-friendly relations between India and China since the British left.

(The writer is a New Delhi-based journalist, editor and arts consultant)

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