Dhapa or Popular known as Tangra is a distinct and unique Chinese suburbs in Kolkata India. They are a group of Chinese people with great pride and tradition. This web page is to honor those in and from tangra who have earned their freedom and liberty through sweat and blood. The Chinese in Kolkata(Calcutta) have always faced political ,social and economic insecurities and challenges.
Let us learn more from their lives, have some fun and also have the eye to see things in better way.
by Aloo, on 05.22.08 @ 7:51 pm
Hey Guys,
Anyone remember the Cool documentary made about our place in like 1990 approx. It was aired on BBC.
A lot of people forgot about it. I would be nice to have that on the site too and other people can check it out in addition to “Legend of Fat Mama”
Cheer
Aloo
by Lavina, on 08.10.08 @ 4:31 pm
This is really great! Brings back good old memories and happy times.
by Venkat, on 08.11.08 @ 8:57 am
I am an Indian working overaseas.I am deeply moved by what you are doing with your blog…to keep a wonderful tradition and culture surviving in a small corner in India inspite of all the hardships you may have experienced.
Very touched, please keep up the excellent work & all the very best to you and your community.
Venkat
by leon, on 08.16.08 @ 8:59 am
Hi Venkat
thanks for the words of encouragement. We are proud to share with one and all, that the time for the Chinese in Calcutta or Kolkata to move forward towards a brighter future has come.
by Susan, on 08.19.08 @ 2:05 am
This is truly impressive!! You guys are doing a tremendous job in keeping this blog going. Not only does it bring back memories for some of us, but it makes us proud to have been part of the whole Indian Chinese community experience.
by dipak kumar, on 08.22.08 @ 7:59 am
your effort to revive your culture and heritage being at a tiny and dingy place is commendable. i hope with the opening of chinese consulate in kolkata and its consular general’s personal initiative, you will grow further. congrats..
by Nipanjan Gupta, on 08.29.08 @ 9:30 am
Hi,
Since 1996, I had long time attachment with the “Hsu” family, a Chinese Indian family of Bowbazar, Kolkata – as the eldest son of the family, Richard Hsu, is my friend. I went a lot of times to their home, which is on BB Ganguly street (behind Firinghi Kalibari, near Central Metro station), lunched with them on their menu, atteneded Richard’s marriage (they reciprocated the same too), read the Chinese Indian magazines – and thus I came to know how the Chinese Indian community in Kolkata is surviving against all odds.
Though at present both me & Richard relocated out of India with wives (he moved to Canada, me to Cyprus) – but still I feel an attachment with such a precious community in Kolkata. Hope this blog will contribute a lot for well being of the community & their wel-wishers (like me).
Thanks & Best Wishes,
by romik, on 09.06.08 @ 10:47 am
it brought back a lot of memories for me…. thank you all for your good efforts…. this website is really great… the articles about kimling & kafulok were so mouthwatering, but its sad that the numbers are dwindling & that the tannery businesses are so much pressed by the authorities, also i read a poem which was very touching….. anyways, ma best wishes n peace luv n lot of red colour to every1…. cherio
by zhongwenxuexiao, on 09.11.08 @ 3:51 am
Wonderful website!
Wishing it a lot of success…
It will surely go a long way to make the world esp. Kolkatans aware of our very own Chinese community.
Zhong Wen Xue Xiao
by Aji from Kolkata meet, on 09.21.08 @ 6:14 pm
It was great meeting you in Kolkata indiblogger meet, please drop me an email.
Regards,
Aji Issac
by K Roy, on 09.22.08 @ 6:50 am
I love that place
Food is too good…
And it was great to meet you there at Kolkata Blogger’s meet
by Choto Cheeta, on 09.25.08 @ 4:53 pm
Hi Leon,
Just wanted to drop in to say hi.. Also wanted to have any contact email address of yours.
Thanks,
Choto Cheeta
by Ash, on 09.26.08 @ 5:05 am
Long live Indo-chinese friendship!
I get so infuriated whenever i hear north indians refer to people from the northeast as chinkis or chaptis. India is all about one land embracing many!
by leon, on 09.28.08 @ 3:11 pm
Indo Cheena Bye bye … welcome ash
by leon, on 09.28.08 @ 3:17 pm
hi you can contact me at admin(at)dhapa(dot)com
by leon, on 09.28.08 @ 3:18 pm
nice to meet you too
by Banasree, on 10.02.08 @ 4:10 pm
dear sir,
i am a student of Master in City Planning from IIT Kharagpur.
i am working to develop a proposal for revitalization of chinatown as my thesis.
i would be grateful to you if you kindly give me any contact number or address of the president of Indian Chinese Association.
thanking you,
Banasree
by Orko, on 10.07.08 @ 5:18 pm
Hi Leon, thanks for leaving a kind comment on my photoblog. I think the Chinese community are such an integral part of Calcutta history and their lives and contribution should be documented.
I’d love to shoot photos in Tangra, like you’ve suggested, the next time I’m in Calcutta. Any assistance you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Do mail me back if you can because I’m super-excited at the thought
I’m in Bombay now and just discovered a small Chinese cemetery here and plan to spend a day shooting there.
Great job on the website.
by leon, on 11.11.08 @ 3:56 pm
hi orko .. you can come and shoot during the chinese new year 2009 which is on the 26th of Jan. I just left cal if i can go back for chinese new year, i’ll definitely assist you
by leon, on 11.11.08 @ 3:59 pm
sorry for the late reply .. i overlooked your comment .. well here is the Address of the president of Indian Chinese Association
86 Park Street , P.O. Park Circus , Kolkata – 700017, India Phone : 91 – 033 – 22800800 Mobile : 098305 30220
email: paulhf.chung@gmail.com
all the best for your thesis
by Banasree Mandal, on 11.12.08 @ 11:35 am
Thanks a lot Leon.
by Orko, on 11.12.08 @ 5:01 pm
Thanks for the reply, Leon. I’ll try and come by during the Chinese New Year but I suspect I’ll be in Goa then. Thank you for the offer.
by hellcat, on 11.14.08 @ 8:34 am
you guys are so great!
by Joanna Lim, on 11.20.08 @ 3:22 pm
hi Leon,
Where are you from? Are you in Kolkata? If you are I would really lie you to go check out Eau Chew Restaurant and please write a blog about it on the your website. You’ll see first hand the history and food of the restaurant. Thanks.
by leon, on 11.21.08 @ 12:02 am
Hi Joanna,
Yeah i’m from Kolkata but not there at the moment. I remember Eau Chew Restaurant, when i was a kid i used to go there and really enjoy the food esp. the famous ‘fish ball’. If i get a chance to go there i’ll try update with some pic.
and by the way .. welcome to dhapa.com
by Joanna Lim, on 12.10.08 @ 4:36 pm
Hi!Yes the famous fish ball soup!!! They are still the same and made by my dad. No one does it better than him. Eau chew has changed quite bit since you were kid so don’t be surprised but it still has that old nostalgic feel to it. So do feel free to go there and mention to my parents who you are. You might want to call ahead for the fish ball soup as they are not an a la carte item. Do tell me what you think about it.
by Petar, on 12.22.08 @ 5:09 pm
Hi everyone,
I am a photographer from Croatia, coming to India in mid-January. I am very interested in Kolkata Chinese Community and related subjects. I would like to do reportage for croatian edition of National Geographic. I would like very much if I could spend a few days with some families in Kolkata’s Chinatown and to get introduced to some of your stories. If it is possible to make such arrangements, please let me know via e-mail.
With best regards,
Petar
by leon, on 12.29.08 @ 4:55 am
come around chinese new year on 26th Jan 2009 and the would get the best shots of the year
by sankarsan, on 01.26.09 @ 12:34 pm
Lean@:
Happy new year folks.
I have been in Malaysia for quite sometime and at this time of the year I miss the Chinese New Year celebrations and the moon cakes.
The job you and your friends are doing through this site for Chinese Indian culture and in bigger context Indian culture is exemplary.
by leon, on 01.27.09 @ 10:56 pm
thank you very much for the kind words … we are trying our best to let the world know this site and more important to those indian chinese that was once here. Hope this site will help them get re-connected. (:
by Vijay, on 02.12.09 @ 12:09 am
Hi
I stay in Tangra and was not even aware of this site. I find this site excellent. It’s a great effort towards reviving the Chinese culture in this part of the world. I will follow this blog for sure.
All the best.
by Bill, on 02.25.09 @ 5:32 am
Hi Leon,
There is something wrong with this website. The home page only shows the two latest articles. A newcomer would think that this is the only content of this site and be disappointed. Can you fix this?
Thanks,Bill
by Thien, on 02.25.09 @ 7:00 am
yeah its fixed now !!
by Bill, on 02.25.09 @ 7:31 am
Thanks, that was quick.
Bill
by Subhashis Basu, on 03.02.09 @ 2:51 pm
Hi Leon,
This is a great site where we can know about u and ur community.Thanks for deliver this type of site.I think you are well now…..
Thanks,
Subhashis
by Guri Singh, on 03.24.09 @ 12:51 pm
This is an awesome blog/website. Thanks for the recipes.
can you please recommend a few places to eat. I am making a trip to calcutta in May.
Can you suggest where I should go to eat some of the chinese food that I should not miss when I am in Calcutta?
Thanks,
Guri
by andrew, on 04.30.09 @ 7:15 pm
I am glad I visited this site, it is very imformative. Well, how did I find this site? Becasue Leon had stumbled onto mine and posted a comment with a URL back.
It’s good to know the Hakkas in Calcutta are proud of your culture. I myself originated from the same place but only have some distant memeory of it.
Good work, great looking theme.
Andrew
Toronto, Canada
GamesCheat.ca
by arijit, on 07.05.09 @ 7:45 am
hi is there any KUNG FU club in China town, or any body teaches KUNG FU in Chinatown?
I’ve heard of sifu chan but dont know his address or number? any body can help me?
my Email is -arijithello@rediffmail.com .
by shyjit, on 07.08.09 @ 12:24 pm
Hi, was surfing when i found this site. good work keep it up.
by Ah Wan, on 07.10.09 @ 2:30 pm
Hi, arijit.
I think my fren has some info regarding the master, i will send u soon.
by Bill, on 07.23.09 @ 3:28 am
Hi Leon,
Time (Time.com) has an article “California Apologizes to Chinese Americans”. Can you post it here? This article cites a trend all over the world where people finally realizes that actions in the past were wrong and are taking steps to acknowledge this. Maybe this will help spur the Indian Government to apologize for how the Indian Chinese Community was mistreated in the 1960s.
Thanks,
Bill
by Li, on 07.23.09 @ 7:48 am
Hi Bill,
Thanks for sharing. Yes, a great article to post by Leon.
Being an Indian Chinese (rightfully Chinese Indian) now settled abroad, I read the article with emotions and growing anticipation of when it is our turn to be given apologies from the Indian Authorities at the highest level on their wrongful persecution of the Chinese community in India during the 1962 era.
This article should prick the minds and souls of India media & channels as a mirror reflection, prompting those like the many Indian news reporters and historians with a conscience to pursue the cause of justice – unfolded with untold stories, articles and petitions of human tragedy. It is never late to say Sorry. It is always better late than never.
The dawn is breaking and we shall see light at the end of the dark tunnel very soon. Just anxiously waiting for that day to come by patiently.
by Priyanka, on 08.07.09 @ 5:46 pm
In the latest 7 Wonders of West Bengal (a subset of 7 Wonders of India), Tangra Chinatown or Dhapa – Kolkata’s very own – seemed to have missed as a nomination for its distinct and unique Chinese surburbs in India.
These beautiful Chinese settlements, old and squalid, highly deserve an entry to votes for 3 main reasons for their characteristics.
Firstly, the stench smell from the raw-hide – for once stood rows of thriving tanneries (while all tanning operations ceased and moved to Bantala) – still assaults you as you enter the vicinity.
The welcoming pungent smell is a combination of left-behind tanneries and that of chillies from neighbouring Chinese sauce factories with the cooking woks of Chinese eateries.
Secondly, the lanes and bylanes curved and twined around many old and hugh look-a-like fortresses of a Chinese dynasty fenced up heavily with barbed wires at the top.
Thirldy, all forts (once tanneries) but now either a Chinese restaurant or a dwelling place for families have decor of big red Oriental lanterns, dragons and colourful Chinese red papers hanging at doorways.
For the residence, all fortresses were structured with strong and enormous steel gates painted in red – locked under padlocks.