El cuento

8 The police force is regarded by many as a lucrative career – but not because the salary is particularly high.

Services

Calcutta is, on one level, an extremely well serviced city. For a private citizen it is possible to buy, cheaply, almost any home help one could imagine from gardeners, cooks, sweepers and swabbers, quilt makers, dog walkers, food deliverers, shoe cleaners, sweet sellers, ironers, dhobis9

On the other hand, at another, more public, level the infrastructure and lack of public resources means that the city is poorly serviced and maintained. The roads are uneven and pot-holed, poor drainage means that monsoon rains quickly flood the streets. Over the time I spent there the city corporation had undertaken a project to build a number of flyovers in the hope of easing the worst areas of traffic congestion. But it seemed that as fast as progress was being made in one area other areas were falling into serious decay, such as drains which blocked and had to be cleared by first of all digging up roads and pavements to get to the pipes. These were never restored to an even surface after the repair.

, and nannies. Wages paid for these services are extremely low. I was told, for example, that it would cost Rs500 (less than NZ$20) per month for someone to come in every weekday to sweep and swab the floors. I was also told innumerable times that Calcutta was the cheapest city in India in which to live. It is possible, for example, to buy a freshly prepared meal for just a few rupees. An old British woman who has lived in Calcutta for most of her life said that Rs20 (less that NZ$1) a day covered her food requirements.

The Climate

Moorhouse, in writing his history of Calcutta, quotes Mark Twain who “thought the weather of Calcutta ‘enough to make a brass doorknob mushy’” (cited by Moorhouse 1971:18). He himself observes in his description of paintings in the Marble Palace in Calcutta that:

…they are desperate for restoration and some of the oil paint is beginning to slide from the canvasses in the terrible humidity of Calcutta. (1971:22)

A discussion of the environment of Calcutta would be incomplete without a mention of its climate, which was described to me on one trip as “treacherous” (and this was in reference to the coolness (sic!) of the month of December). This term seems apt for

other times of the year; from late March through until the monsoon comes in early July the heat builds up to the point that the authorities advise no one to be on the streets during the middle of the day. Moorhouse describes the effect on inanimate objects:

It becomes so hot that the tar liquefies on the roads and goes oozing down the drains, and the colossal steel mesh of the Howrah bridge is habitually four feet longer by day than it is at night (…) On top of the blistering heat comes the humidity, and it is commonplace for that to register 100 per cent. (1971:24)

From the time the monsoon breaks the temperature becomes more bearable, but there are other problems. The rainfall is so extreme that the streets flood, the sewers flood, and it becomes difficult to have confidence in any body of water. As well as that, the flooding leads to further traffic congestion, and the ponding of water is perfect for breeding malaria-bearing mosquitoes. Intermittent torrential rain and sticky between- downpours-heat carries on for three or four months into September.

At times I escaped the heat and humidity by going into one of the growing selection of western-style air-conditioned cafes or shopping malls. As soon as I re-entered the ‘normal’ climatic environment my glasses would fog up. I presume that if this was the effect on my glasses then the same would be happening to my skin – which explains the shiny exhausted face looking out from some photographs.

The most pleasant time of the year is the dry winter from December to February when Calcuttans make the most of the pleasant mid 70-degree days and cool nights to wear their warmest shawls and coats. Managing the cool, dry, winter is easy – as long as care is taken to avoid the ‘treacherous’ dew. It is the heat that is the challenge. As well as some cafes and shopping malls, a number of modern businesses and restaurants have air-conditioning, but most Calcuttans rely, for cooling, on the air movement provided by ceiling fans. The old buildings are built to be habitable in the hottest months with high ceilings, thick walls, small windows, and in some cases, deep shady verandas. More recently constructed, low-ceilinged buildings can be stiflingly hot. The shacks and one-roomed dwellings in the bustee10

10 _{Bustee is the local term for what we would call a slum.}

protection from the weather, although even the most modest Anglo-Indian homes I visited in Tiljala ran ceiling fans.

At the hottest times of the year the air-conditioned cinemas are used as much as a break from the heat as for entertainment. Cinemas and “the disc” (discos) are popular, and practical, places for young Anglo-Indian couples to conduct courtships at this time of the year.

If one thinks of Calcutta as a character then its sensual dimensions are a very important part of its temperament and Anglo-Indians in Calcutta have to live with them.

PERCEPTION OF THE CITY FROM A BENGALI ACTIVIST

To give another perspective, let me present an extract from an interview with a Calcuttan social activist who has lived all his life in Calcutta.11

What is Calcutta’s heritage and how has that played a role in defining the city today?

Few cities in the world are faced with a situation similar to that which Calcutta confronts. In early times it was the centre of British colonial rule in India and was a premier industrial and port city – a busy hub for trade, commerce, finance and banking. It boasted a reputation for scientific research, arts and culture, and was a showcase of architectural splendour.

In the early 20th century this started to change and Calcutta’s political and economic fortunes began to decline. Over the last three decades the remainder of the city’s proud industrial heritage has crumbled. Unsurprisingly this long process of blight has had a massive social impact.

Calcutta is still a wealthy city, but that largely serves the few who control it. For the rest, the city that was once known as the “city of palaces” is mired in extreme squalor.

What are the biggest immediate challenges facing your city?

Calcutta’s city population is roughly 6 million, and the greater metropolitan area has a population of 14 million. About half the city population, and a third of the metropolitan population, live in degraded, overcrowded slums lacking in basic civic amenities like water and sanitation. In some places this poses acute environmental health risks, with high infant mortality and general morbidity from gastro-intestinal diseases. Additionally, half a million poor people live in entirely unserviced shanty settlements, with the fear of eviction ever looming over them.

Unemployment is high, with little prospect of decreasing. The education system is a shambles. Quality education – defined as that which serves to

perpetuate privilege – is available only to those who can afford it. The public transport system is in a mess. Traffic is chaotic. Severe socio-economic disparities divide the different linguistic, ethnic and religious groups that make up the city population. The environment is pregnant with latent conflict and violence.

The city and provincial governments are in severe financial crisis, with developmental activity at a standstill. Urban sprawl is destroying ecologically sensitive wetlands on the eastern fringe. Corruption in public life has reached menacing levels, like a monster devouring the masses. Economic globalisation will result in large numbers being consigned to destitution.

Those who matter, and who have the power to effect change are active in securing their own narrow interests. There is no “civil society” to speak of – nobody is engaged in public domain concerns founded on social and environmental justice. For the last 25 years, the state has been ruled by a party that has taken a complete stranglehold over people’s lives, while systematically tutoring the citizenry in delusion.

This pessimistic view is shared by many people I spoke to. Such a perception of Calcutta’s situation results in many wanting to leave India – Calcutta’s problems are seen as being widespread throughout India. People gave different reasons for things being the way they were. Many Anglo-Indians, for example, regard the city’s demise as a result of the withdrawal of Britain from India. However, there are others who have the means to leave but have decided that the good features of the city outweigh the bad.

ANGLO-INDIAN CALCUTTA:PHYSICAL SPACE

DEMOGRAPHY

The issue of ‘numbers’ is at the heart of the original problem I had set out to study. Anglo-Indians are a community but they are also individuals and it is the foreboding sense that the numbers of the latter are declining that was the immediate reason for beginning this work.

It is difficult to obtain an accurate estimate of the current population of Anglo-Indians in Calcutta. Since 1961 Anglo-Indians have not been counted separately in the census (Caplan 2001:74). In addition, as noted by McMenamin, “The population statistics for Anglo-Indians in Census reports has always been questionable” (unpublished:3). This applies as much in Calcutta as anywhere else in India. One reason for the difficulty in obtaining accurate numbers is suggested by McMenamin who, when referring to the

population figures for India generally said: “The 1943 (sic)12 census puts the Anglo- Indian population at 140,422,13 although no doubt it was in fact much greater, because not all sections of the wider community identify themselves as Anglo-Indians” (ibid.). In his 1969 publication Anthony gives the figure of 29,000 in the whole of West Bengal, based on the 1941 Census report (1969: 205). An indication of the uncertainty in population numbers is the fact that Anthony puts forward different figures for the population at the time of Independence – he says that officially it was about 140,000 (1969:203), but he also uses the figure of “about 300,000 souls” (1969:viii), and says he believes the real figure to be between 250,000 and 300,000 (1969:9). This is in comparison with Sen’s figure of 40,000 for Calcutta and West Bengal at the time of WWII based on reports by an Anglo-Indian Welfare Society (1983:40), a figure which is thought to have reduced dramatically from the time of Indian Independence. Since the Census Reports have not specifically identified Anglo-Indians as a minority group for some decades now, the best estimate may be the number of people who profess to be Christians who also speak English as their mother tongue. Although this seems a logical way to estimate the figure, the 1991 census gives just 15,394 as the number of people who claim English as their first language (Census of India, 2003:4). All Anglo- Indians ought to make this claim but don’t.14

You were asking about the decline of the community. I don’t think it’s declining at all, you know. We still have, I would say, around forty thousand Anglo-Indians or more…

Community leaders in Calcutta gave both the figures of 30,000 families and of 30,000 people when I enquired. The All India Anglo-Indian Association (AIAIA) has figures for their paid-up members only. I asked the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) currently representing Anglo- Indians for an estimate of the number of Anglo-Indians in Calcutta, as well as her views on emigration and the perceived decline of the community. Her responses were:

Forty thousand total?

Yes, in total. In Calcutta and in West Bengal definitely. In the other parts of West Bengal another twenty, twenty five thousand, there would be.

Oh, like places like Karagphur…?

12 There wasn’t a census in 1943. Indian censuses are carried out decennially and fall on the first year of the decade.

13 Government of India Census of India, I, Part I, Table 13, pp.98-99 (as cited by McMennamin 2003:3).

14 It has been suggested that for reasons to do with the politics of language Anglo-Indians might not choose to identify English as their first language even though it is always the case that it is.

Yes, Karagphur, Adra, you know these places? And Chakhradhapur, all these places. And each place has its own Association and the Anglo- Indians come together at various times. We are trying, those who are more affluent, those who are better off, are trying to help those who are not so well off. And so it’s not really declining, if anything I think the sense of belonging together is stronger. So I would say we are a growing community. There are, of course, a number who have emigrated as you know, but now that has stopped. Now I think they realise that their roots are here in India and that it’s good for us and they’re integrating more with the people here. And we definitely have a place. The Government also is good to us. We have our representation here at the Centre as well. So I think that has helped people to realise that we should perhaps stay on here in this country and do whatever we can.

Make it here rather than…?

Yes, rather than going. And really I feel that if you’re doing well here there’s no reason to go abroad. At the time when people emigrated there was a little uncertainty about what would happen to them, about what would be their fate. But now I think we are more or less assured of a place here and accepted by the people here. So there’s really no need to go abroad.

I’ve read about the BJP government and their Hinduisation policies – is that affecting people in West Bengal?

Not at all. In fact in West Bengal I think that they’re really safe. This is what I keep saying, that the Government is always ready to help. I mean I work with them so I know they’re always ready to help the minorities if we have any problem. And where Christians are concerned even, we are very safe. We can still worship freely. There’s no persecution or anything like that. So in West Bengal I would say we are better off in that respect than perhaps in other parts of India.

Clearly the MLA’s views are but one set. They are more optimistic than those of others but she is far from alone in these views. We will see this optimism expressed both verbally and non-verbally later in this thesis.

ANGLO-INDIAN HABITAT

ANGLO-INDIAN NICHES AND HOMES

The issue of numbers is not trivial for a variety of reasons: politically because political representation depends upon it; culturally because a critical mass is required for survival, especially in an urban environment such as Calcutta. In this respect the story of the Armenians of the city is instructive. It is certainly the case that, as a proportion of the total of the city, there has been a dramatic change in Anglo-Indian presence in Calcutta. I talk about this further, later.

Calcutta’s population includes Bengalis15

In the early days of the city it was divided into two main sections: Black Town and White Town with the ‘natives’ inhabiting the former and the British administrators, businessmen and Anglo-Indians, the latter. According to Thomas (1997), there was a plan for rebuilding the city as recently as 1914 which was to separate it into two distinct areas: In the north and east would lie the Indian district and south of it would be the “chief business houses of the British, the sterling banks, the seats of governments, the public offices and leading hotels” (Thomas 1997:23). As it is, the central district is significantly more influenced by the British (made apparent in the architecture of many buildings in this area) than other parts of the city, and it is in this area that the Anglo-Indians originally made their home. Other areas are considered to be the domain of particular sections of the population. Still others are considered to be more cosmopolitan. On the other hand, as noted by Thomas, dotted about throughout the city, in every ward, are pockets of bustees, and homeless people living on the streets. In the next section I will describe some of the social spaces of the city in which it is likely that Anglo-Indians will be found.

, Muslims, Biharis, Sikhs, Parsis, Marwaris, Armenians, Chinese and Anglo-Indians. The population of the city is divided by language, religion and caste as well as by the usual social discriminators of class, education and occupation. The range in socio-economic status is huge and is tied to educational achievement and employment. It does not necessarily correlate to ethnicity although there are some patterns. Higher caste Bengalis, Marwaris and Parsis, for example, are generally wealthier than Biharis, Muslims or Anglo-Indians and form the core of the commercial classes.

There seemed to be a feeling among some Anglo-Indians in Calcutta that I would want to meet a particular type of Anglo-Indian. I was invited to a birthday party on one of my trips and the friend who had accompanied me later reported that one of the reasons I had been invited was that this group of Anglo-Indians wanted me to meet “a better class of Anglo-Indians”. Interestingly this was before I had made a trip to Tiljala where I witnessed the poorest living conditions. Calcuttan Anglo-Indians I spoke to

15 _{Although the term ‘Bengalis’ may more accurately refer to the language group of Bengali} speakers, Anglo-Indians, and others I spoke to in Calcutta, used this term only in reference to the