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Book Details
Abstract
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.
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.
Himadri Banerjee is the Guru Nanak Professor of History at Jadavpur University, India. Nilanjana Gupta is Professor of English and the Director of the School of Media, Communication and Culture at Jadavpur University, India. Sipra Mukherjee is Reader in English at Bhairab Ganguly College, India.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front Matter\r | 1 | ||
| Half Title\r | 1 | ||
| Series Page\r | 2 | ||
| Title\r | 3 | ||
| Copyright\r | 4 | ||
| Dedication\r | 5 | ||
| Contents\r | 7 | ||
| List of Contributors\r | 9 | ||
| Acknowledgements\r | 11 | ||
| Introduction\r | 13 | ||
| Notes\r | 31 | ||
| Main Body\r | 34 | ||
| Chapter 1. Mapping the Spaces of Minorities: Calcutta through the Last Century, by Keya Dasgupta\r | 35 | ||
| I | 35 | ||
| II\r | 36 | ||
| III | 37 | ||
| IV. Representative Immigrant/Minority Communities\r | 38 | ||
| V. Initial Arrivals to the City: Representative Communities in Trade\r | 42 | ||
| VI. Occupational Diversities\r | 48 | ||
| VII. Other Religious Communities\r | 51 | ||
| VIII. Selected Indian Communities \r | 59 | ||
| IX. Immigrants in Calcutta: Spatial Distribution\r | 68 | ||
| X. Convergence of Religious and Linguistic Communities: Representative Cosmopolitan Neighbourhoods \r | 70 | ||
| XI. Occupational Groupings by Place of Birth \r | 71 | ||
| XII. Conclusions\r | 73 | ||
| Notes\r | 76 | ||
| Appendix 1: World Map of Calcutta, 1931\r | 79 | ||
| Appendix 2: World Map of Calcutta, 1961\r | 80 | ||
| Chapter 2. The Armenians of Calcutta, by Susmita Bhattacharya\r | 83 | ||
| 2.1. Coming to Calcutta\r | 84 | ||
| 2.2. Structure of the Community\r | 86 | ||
| 2.3. Trade and Economic Activities \r | 88 | ||
| 2.4. Social Life\r | 91 | ||
| 2.5. Conclusion\r | 94 | ||
| Notes\r | 97 | ||
| Chapter 3. The Jews of Calcutta, by Sipra Mukherjee\r | 99 | ||
| The Interview\r | 101 | ||
| Notes\r | 107 | ||
| Chapter 4. The Sindhis of Calcutta, by Sajni Kripalani Mukherji\r | 109 | ||
| I\r | 111 | ||
| II\r | 114 | ||
| III\r | 117 | ||
| Notes\r | 119 | ||
| Chapter 5. The City of Colleges: The Bengali-Muslim in Colonial Calcutta, by Sipra Mrkherjee \r | 123 | ||
| 5.1. The Begali-Muslims and the Ashrafs \r | 124 | ||
| 5.2. Dynamics within the Community \r | 126 | ||
| 5.3. The Bengali Initiative \r | 129 | ||
| 5.4. The Controversies over Education\r | 132 | ||
| Notes\r | 138 | ||
| Chapter 6. The Chinese Community of Calcutta: An Interview with Paul Chung, by Sipra Mukherjee and Sarvani Gooptu\r | 143 | ||
| The Interview\r | 144 | ||
| Chapter 7. The Anglo-Indians of Calcutta: An Interview with Rudolph Rodrigues, by Nandini Bhattacharya\r | 155 | ||
| The Interview\r | 156 | ||
| Notes\r | 162 | ||
| Chapter 8. The Biharis of Calcutta: An Interview with Sachchidand and Indu Rai, by Sipra Mukherjee\r | 165 | ||
| The Interview\r | 167 | ||
| Notes\r | 175 | ||
| Chapter 9. Agraharis of Calcutta: A Minority Group within the Larger Sikh Community, by Himadri Banerjee\r | 176 | ||
| I\r | 177 | ||
| II\r | 179 | ||
| III\r | 181 | ||
| IV\r | 183 | ||
| V\r | 184 | ||
| VI\r | 186 | ||
| VII\r | 187 | ||
| VIII\r | 189 | ||
| IX\r | 191 | ||
| X\r | 192 | ||
| XI\r | 194 | ||
| Notes\r | 195 | ||
| Chapter 10. A Journey into my Neighbourhood: The Bohra Community of Calcutta, by Sarvani Gooptu\r | 209 | ||
| I\r | 209 | ||
| II\r | 215 | ||
| III\r | 216 | ||
| Notes\r | 220 | ||
| Chapter 11. 'South Indians' in Calcutta: Experiences in Cultural Processes, by Nandini Bhattacharya\r | 223 | ||
| I\r | 226 | ||
| II\r | 231 | ||
| III\r | 236 | ||
| Notes\r | 240 | ||
| Chapter 12. 'Non-Bengali' Icons of Malevolence: Middle Class Representation of an 'Other' in Interwar Culcatta, by Sudeshna Banerjee\r | 243 | ||
| 12.1. The Hindustani Goala and the 'Ude' Thakur\r | 246 | ||
| 12.2. 'Agent of Starvation': The Marwari Businessmen\r | 249 | ||
| 12.3. A 'Dying' Lot in the City of Survival\r | 250 | ||
| 12.4. The Dwindled 'Inner Domain' and the New 'Outer Domain'\r | 255 | ||
| Notes\r | 258 | ||
| Chapter 13. Selfing the City: Single Women Outsiders in Calcutta, Gender and the Processes of Everyday Urban Life, by Ipshita Chanda\r | 265 | ||
| Notes\r | 275 |