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Legend of Fat Mama



The Legend of Fat Mamafrom Rafeeq Elliason Vimeo.

Sometime in January or February each year, on the first day of the new moon, India reaffirms its magical diversity as the country’s tiniest minority celebrates Chinese New Year.

Nobody knows the precise size of the Indian Chinese population: estimates suggest less than 5, of them live in Kolkata and perhaps another 5, in the rest of India.

It was, but of course, a very enterprising and hardworking trader who first came to Bengal over years ago; Yang Daijang from Guandong, who, in a moment of unusual generosity from the British received a grant of bighas of land just 30 km from Kolkata,  in return for the gift of a shipload of tea.

Yang, called Atchew by the British, began a sugar factory and brought Chinese labour to the port city that came to be known as Achipur.

My own connection with the Chinese is considerably less ancient but does go back