Dias-para: neighbourhood, memory and the city

Abstract

This article analyses the importance of the neighbourhood as a space of belonging, attachment and memories for Anglo-Indian and Chinese communities from Calcutta. It explores the significance of neighbourhood space in South Asian cities, particularly to study minority communities. Using narratives of both Anglo-Indian and Chinese Calcuttans, in the city and in diaspora in London and Toronto, the first section of the article outlines ways in which community identities are linked to the neighbourhood, as well as ways in which the neighbourhood acts as a space of encounter. The second section focuses on the impact of large-scale migration from Calcutta on the neighbourhood. Next, I use memory maps to explore narratives of neighbourhood in diaspora. The article suggests the term dias-para to explore critical links across neighbourhood, memory, the city and diaspora.

Keywords:

• Calcutta
• Anglo-Indian
• Chinese
• neighbourhood
• memory
• urban

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Alison Blunt for her helpful comments on this paper, and for her support and encouragement in my research. Many thanks to Ajaya Sahoo for his editorial guidance on this paper. My PhD research, on which this paper is based, was funded by The Leverhulme Trust and Queen Mary University of London. The Central Research Fund, University of London also funded my travel for field work.

Notes

I thank Dwaipayan Bhattacharya for suggesting this term when I presented a paper on Anglo-Indian memories at Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta in December 2007. He used the term to describe his own neighbourhood which had witnessed significant out-migration of the younger generation and the way in which people still kept in touch with neighbourhood friends.

‘Sahib’ was used formerly to denote a European man in colonial India. So Sahib-para translates as neighbourhood where sahibs lived. In the present it is used as a form of respectful address.

Salami refers to a large sum of money deposited with the landlord by the tenant. When the tenant moves, the salami is usually repaid either by the landlord or by the next tenant.

Anglo-Indians (and also the Chinese) usually refer to non-Bengali Muslims as Muslims. ‘Bengali’ usually is referred to as Hindu Bengalis. Elsewhere in the article, Bengali refers to both Hindu and Muslim Bengalis.