Tangra, Calcutta

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Tangra is a district in east Kolkata that traditionally housed a large number of tanneries. In addition, over the past fifty years, it has served as the location of Calcutta's Chinatown. This is not a coincidence; the Chinese of Calcutta have specialised in leather work and many made-to-order shoe shops are run by the community. Food from Tangra is a distinct variety of traditional Chinese food adapted to Indian ingredients and the Bengali palate. This has spread to the rest of India, along with the recipes earlier unique to Tangra.

Tangra is changing rapidly. The population is no longer renewed by waves of migration and many traditional professions such as dentistry, laundry and tannery are no longer the preserve of the Chinese. The West Bengal government recently moved all tanneries to Bantala, a suburb in the north east of Kolkata. The success of Chinese food in the rest of India encouraged a migration of many Chinese families to other cities as the economic fortunes of Kolkata decayed. Many landmark Chinese eateries, including Waldorf, Peiping and Fat Mamas have closed or changed hands and fortunes. The once prosperous Calcutta Chinese community is now clearly in decline. However, a boom in Tangra's unique Indian-Chinese food is attracting a lot of attention these days and the cuisine will probably live on in Kolkata and in the global Indian Diaspora.