Temples of Chinatown
The temples or places of worship though are referred to
as “churches”, they are moreover sites of veneration that adhere to Chinese
traditional religion and have nothing to do with Christianity.
· Toong On Church
· Sea IP Church
· Nam Soon Church
· Sea Voi Yune
Leong Futh Church
Toong On Church (since 1904)
The original temple and the community center inside the
temple itself were enhanced into this red-brick neo-classical influenced
structure by the Au family who started the Nanking restaurant on its ground
floor which has later been stopped due to lack of maintenance and economic
stability. The community center and the temple continued to exist on first
floor. Nanking Restaurant became an incredibly posh and renowned Chinese
restaurant in the city then. The restaurant got shut down post-independence in
the late 1970s. This magnificent structure lay largely vacant nowadays.
Sea IP Church (since 1905)
One of the most well-known temples or churches in the
Teritta bazaar is Kwan Yin Temple, also known as Sea IP Church was established
in the year 1905. Though it is the oldest, it is the most easily accessible one
among the other six temples. The temple is actually two storied where the
ground floor is moreover used as a rest place or a library for the local people
rather and the top floor is actually the Church. Goddess Kwan Yin sits on the
alter and is surrounded by many other Chinese gods and goddesses.
Naam Soon Church (since 1820)
It is the oldest of the six Chinese Temples of Teritta
Bazaar. It is also the most spacious of all the Churches and also contains a
large courtyard. It is located at the end of Damzen Lane and is difficult to locate. The Naam Soon Church acts as a symbol of peace to the chaotic Damzen Lane as it surrounds within narrow lane and thus the existence of a Church on the spot becomes unbelievable to the visitors. The Chinese Goddess of war, love and mercy, Kwan Yin sits on the alter with her two war companions. The interior of the temple is designed with wall hangings, Chinese weapons and several images and statues of Chinese Gods and Goddesses. the roof hanging evidently speaks about its beauty in the picture above.
Sea Voi Yune Leong
Futh Church (since 1908)
It is the smallest but most elegant of all the six
temples of Teritta Bazaar. It houses the twin idols of two ancient Chinese
Gods. The temple also consists of a set of weapons, wall and roof hanging and
numerous images and statues of Chinese Gods and Goddesses. The Church is being maintained by a priest seems to be very frank and decent on sharing information about the Church whoever ask for it and cooperates with utmost respect. The picture clearly shows the candles that have been lit by the devotees who come to pray.
Chinese Breakfast of Old Chinatown
The Sunday morning silence of the Old Chinatown at
Teritta Bazaar breaks around five and it comes to live from six to nine in the
morning. The place satiates one’s cravings for those hot, juicy chicken Momos,
Pork Momos, Suasages, Prawn wafers and the list goes endless. Walking down the streets people witnesses the momo containers on
both sides of the road, sausages hung from ropes as well as the typical Indian
breakfast. The hot soup noodles, steamed baozi buns, dumplings in both steamed
and deep-fried forms are served in utter delicacy at the stalls on the roads.
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In addition to these, Rolls, Rice Pudding, Ham Choi,
Vegetable Dumplings, Rice or Meat Zung, rice Dumplings and a few Pork and Beef
items.
Some details
about a few food items found here: -
Stuffed Bun: It is mainly
the steamed stuffed buns that are mostly made of Pork and Fish. They are served
with a tangy sauce and are available in abundance in Teritta Bazaar’s Sunday
Breakfast.
Dumpling/ Momo: this is
probably the highest selling item over there. It comes in three varieties, Pork,
Chicken and Fish and it also comes in fried form as well.
Meat Zung and Rice Zung: these are mainly the sticky rice outer coating
with a meat or sweet lentil filling respectively and wrapped in Bamboo leaves
and then steamed.
Chinatown is one of the important areas in Calcutta, but
now the condition of this area is going to a dark phase due to economic and social
condition as well as globalization. Kolkata's Chinatown is changing rapidly. The
population is no longer renewed by waves of migration and many traditional
professions of Chinese like dentistry, laundry and tannery are no longer the preserve of the
Chinese. However, Tangra has been an integral part of the culture of the
Chinese community in India.
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