印度的客家中心[转]
http://www.cwcnet.com/myhk/hw/india.htm印度的客家中心
华人遍及全世界，印度也不例外，加尔各答是印度华裔聚居最多的地方。据记载，第一位到加尔各答定居的华人是17世纪来自华南的一位年轻的天主教徒。在他之後又有数千华人接踵而至，繁衍生息。到1951年，在加尔各答的华裔人数达到9万多，为历史的最高峰。后来由于两国关系恶化等原因，不少华裔离开印度，到20世纪90年代，在印度的华裔只剩下1万1千人左右。
加尔各答的华人大都集中在西北郊的塔坝，印度人称它为“唐格拉”。塔坝面积只有10多平方公里，最早是由几户华人从一片沼泽地里开发出来的。现在聚居这里的华人有八九千人，他们绝大部分是从广东梅县迁来的後裔。印度水牛皮资源丰富，这些华人中不少人懂得鞣皮制革技术，便一起办起了皮革作坊，经过几代人的艰辛劳作，塔坝终於发展成为一个像模像样的小镇。
如今的塔坝已成为加尔各答，乃至印度最大的唐人街。一进塔坝，四合院 红漆大门 大红灯笼 红对联都能让你时刻体会到中华文明的魅力。塔坝的华裔绝大部分从事皮革生意，现有皮厂220余家，有的已相当现代化。这200多家皮厂每天处理3万多张水牛皮，占印度全部皮革生产的1/5。
塔坝的华人十分团结，有华侨会馆，有自己的厂商理事会。这些组织为当地华人做了不少善事。塔坝的华人开办了一所培梅学校，这是印度惟一的一所为华人而办并教授华语的学校。当地华人还有一份自己的华文报纸，主要是登载当地华人的活动。由于条件所限，这份报纸到现在还是用刻蜡纸油印。
加尔各答的中餐馆在印度是最多的，高中低档都有，不过印度色彩已相当浓厚，花色品种也较为有限，卖得最多的是炒面和炒饭。塔坝的中餐馆在加尔各答比较有名，来就餐的不仅有塔坝和加尔各答的名流，亦有驻印的外国使节。印度塔坝的华人除了年老的以外，中青年已基本上融入当地主流社会，尽管他们已属于第二 第三代华裔，但对故土中国的留恋，依然是他们最底处的心声。
中国人的宗姓意识是相当浓厚的，在他乡的时间愈长，愈是如此。
最初到印度的中国人，主要是广东人 客家人和湖北人。广东人以当木匠居多，客家人则经营皮革做鞋；而湖北人从事牙医。三族人同样都拥有中国人刻苦的性格，几十年过去，广东人终於有了自己的木厂；湖北人是印度有名的牙医；而客家人势力最大，人数最多。他们会选择住在邻近地区，营造出一个海外客家村。在离加尔各答20公里的塔坝村，有2000多名村民全部是祖籍梅县的客家人，大多从事皮革工商业。
三十年前客家人在塔坝里面创立了一间中文报馆，多年以来坚持用人手抄写新闻石刻印刷，每天发行五百份，内容虽然是两天前的新闻，但足以让身处异乡的中国人亲切。
客家人一向被视为最勤奋 最吃得苦的中国人。当初印度人认为制造皮革是贱民的工作，客家人却抓紧机会开拓这个被拒绝的行业。今天的客家人终於熬出头来，现在还可倒过来养活一大批的印度人。
而广东人经营的木材厂亦全者雇用了印度人，但他们对宗祠观念更计较和执着。短短一条唐人街就有不同宗族的会馆：会宁会馆 义兴会馆 南顺会馆等。
最后的中文小学
印度的加尔各答有一间具六十五年历史 曾经有一千多名学生的学校 培梅学校。这是加尔各答唯一一间以客家话授课的学校，其学生大部分是客家人的子女。
这间学校以宣扬中国文化为使命，以中国人要认识中国为宗旨，多年来，学校雨天操场的石柱上一直挂着讲述中国历史人物故事的牌匾。不过今天校舍中有三层教室已空置了两层，因为年轻一代的华裔父母都会把子女送去英文学校。但无论中文还是英文，这些中国孩子仍旧在异乡快乐地成长。
http://www.cwcnet.com/myhk/hw/india.htm
今天晚上的鳳凰電視臺，介紹了那裏的一位 邱 老師。 我看到了！是凤凰卫视的《唐人街》。看起来有点心酸呀！！~~~那个丘先生看起来有点想混血儿的呀！不知为什么！！~~~还有广东卫视的山歌节开幕式《梅开盛事》怎么是普通话的呀！~~~我不是很满意！！~~ Posted by wwwyjed at 2004-3-14 23:26
我看到了！是凤凰卫视的《唐人街》。看起来有点心酸呀！！~~~那个丘先生看起来有点想混血儿的呀！不知为什么！！~~~还有广东卫视的山歌节开幕式《梅开盛事》怎么是普通话的呀！~~~我不是很满意！！~~
我想你們看到是 《唐人街》那裡的廣府人吧，有錢的廣府人自1960年 中、印邊境發生衝突後都離開印度到香港或加拿大去了，留下來的大部份都沒有事業，年老的看起就像抽鴉片煙鬼樣，又烏又瘦。 住在印度的華僑現在可說百分之90% 是客家人 (全部都是梅縣客人)，以前客家人只有做二行生意，一、鞋業 二、皮業，在70年後再開始做美容院 (只是替女子理髮 ) 和開飯店，美容院和飯店分佈在全印度各省都有，以前在城市裡的 "唐人街"只剩下其名了，反而在塔霸做皮業的 "海外客家村" 變成 "中國城" 了，塔霸 "客家村" 裡面住的左鄰右舍全部都是梅縣客人，就像在家鄉一樣，看到的都是自家人，不會有 "身在他鄉" 的感覺。
至80年代只有五、六家點心店，只賣些炒面 、炒粉 、煮水面和煮米粉的，那時候主要是賣給我們客人吃的，當然要 "貨真價實" 在其他中國飯店吃到的是 "貨假價貴" 慢慢的被印度人發現後他們特地從城市開十多公里的車到 塔霸 "客家村" 來吃飯，因為近幾年皮業生意不景氣，看人家飯店生好很多人都改行開飯店了，現有二 、三十家點心店。
過年 (春節) 更熱鬧，我有在台灣和梅縣看過過年，都沒有像在印度過年那麼熱鬧，在入年架前整個 "客家村" 的路上採燈泡(紅黃盬青的色)像英文字 NNNNNNNNNNNNN這樣一直接過去，再加每家人自己負責裝採自己的家，從樓上像 I I I I I I I I I I 字樣吊下來，從入年架後亮到出年架，和舞獅等各種活動。
現在印度的客家人越來越少了，有機會的都到其他國家去了，一些往歐洲，像德國、奧地利、瑞典、丹麥、等國家，移居加拿大的最多，可是現在外國也不歡迎新移民，故很多年青人利用進修的名義到台灣去讀書，過年時很多年青人都會從國外回印度 "客家村" 討老婆 (我爸爸那時是回梅縣去討老婆) 。
近年來印度政府又要我們遷廠，遷到更郊區去，理由是做皮革對空氣污染不合衛生，整個客家村搬到鄉下去，就是再開闢一個新的客家村。所以有更多的人想離開印度。
我以前就在 "客家村" 的培梅學校讀書，只念到六年級止，讀書不多希望大家能看懂我寫的意思，如有寫錯的地方也請大家莫見笑 羅維 凤凰卫视多次介绍过这个 客家聚居点。
前天晚上我正巧看了一部分，看到那里客家人顽强地延续中华客家文化的动人事迹。
里面提到最多人的时候，有20，000多人。可惜现在，只剩下不到2，000人了。很多人都迁徙到世界上的其他地方，虽然他们永远记住这块开垦过的家园。
我还知道，里面也使用客家话来教学中文的。 罗维:
您好!
感谢您的信息!
我爱您们,世界各地的客家乡亲们! Posted by linqifeng at 2004-4-14 16:34
罗维:
您好!
感谢您的信息!
我爱您们,世界各地的客家乡亲们!
根的情结构成了中国人的情感主体，希望各位客家乡亲无论去到哪里，都要记得自己是中国人、是客家人，即使你正在被其他文化同化，也不要忘记“我是客家人”的客家读音，大家一起身体力行，让客家文化长盛不衰。
Hakka Out Of India
http://www.asiawind.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=6527&t=6527Hakka Out Of India
Author: Kobo-Daishi (---.dialup.bol.ucla.edu)
Date: 05-09-04 04:21
Dear all,
The following is a May 7, 2004 South China Morrning Post article titled “Thick Skinned” that I am posting in its entirety because it will soon be archived:
India's sole Chinese enclave in Calcutta thrived as a tanning centre for more than a century. But with the impending closure of its factories, Hakka owners must decamp or diversify.
by Amrit Dhillon
As "guest people" - the English translation of Hakka - residents of Calcutta's Chinatown are living up to their name. They are packing up, preparing to move their century-old leather tanneries out of the congested, pulsating-with -humanity alleys of the enclave to an industrial estate on the city's outskirts. Chinatown's character will never be the same.
At present, Chinese tannery owners and workers live, work and socialise in Tangra. Acting on a Supreme Court order passed last year that the 200 tanneries were polluting the area, contaminating the water with chemicals and making the air fetid, the local government has ordered the factory owners to move.
Some of the owners plan to continue living in Tangra and will commute to Bantala, the new leather-processing complex about 20km away. Others will move lock, stock and barrel to Bantala.
The people of Calcutta - the only Indian city with a Chinese enclave - are worried about the impact of this drastic move on their precious Chinatown. For years, the Chinese tannery owners have struggled against the idea of moving. When environmentalists protested at the pollution, they offered to install effluent-treatment plants. No one was impressed.
Then a private citizen lodged a "public interest petition" in the courts, sealing their fate. The tanneries should have moved last year but the owners have procrastinated, reluctant to leave a place full of memories.
But when the government of West Bengal cut the power supply to some tanneries, they knew time had run out.
Paul Chung, president of the Indian Chinese Association, is unhappy. He hopes the move will not mean the end of Chinatown, but the facts are bleak. About seven years ago, there were 20,000 Hakka Chinese in Calcutta. It was a vibrant community, with its own schools, social clubs and newspapers. Now there are closer to 7,000. The younger ones, underwhelmed by the idea of a career in tanning, have moved to Canada, the US and Australia. A retired teacher, Mr Chung says he is lucky his four daughters have stayed. "I will never leave India. I was born here. My parents are buried here. This is my home."
Others have seen their children move out. "Chinatown is being deserted by the new generation," says school principal S. M. Hsiung. "The Lee Club used to be alive with all sorts of activities. Now it's deserted. All the young do is dream of settling in developed countries."
For a man who has worked hard to preserve the festivals, traditions and ceremonies of his community, the impending disintegration upsets Mr Chung. "You know, in Tangra, we speak the purest form of Hakka anywhere in the world," he says. "Even in its original home, it has been diluted by infiltrating dialects. But here the only two non-Hakka words are the Hindi accha good and aloo potato ."
Of Chinese people, Hakka are among the most vehement when it comes to upholding their customs. If their protests about being forced to move have been muted, the reasons are varied. It's partly because the community is so small that it has no political godfathers, and the Chinese are still viewed by Indians as foreigners. Many who had lived in India for decades were only given Indian citizenship about five years ago.
Another reason for the acquiescence is the community's attitude. "It's one of our characteristics that when things get impossible, we get going," Mr Chung says. "That's why we're known as nomads. We don't make any noise or fuss - we just leave."
Despite being ultra-conservative, the Hakka Chinese are known for their tendency to migrate, even to the most remote parts of the world. One anecdote has it that the northern-most restaurant in the world, closest to the Arctic, is Chinese and run by a Hakka.
The Chinese presence in India dates back to the fifth century when traders, Buddhist monks and imperial envoys came to the different Indian kingdoms. The first was the Buddhist monk Fa Hien, who travelled to Bodhgaya, where Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment. On his return home, he wrote an account of his pilgrimage, which in later centuries inspired other Chinese to follow in his footsteps.
In about 1830, a Chinese-born Vietnamese envoy to Bengal, Li Van Phuc, met Chinese residents in Calcutta. He put the number at several hundreds and described the people as very poor. Most had come from Fujian and Guangdong.
The first Chinese settler in Calcutta was Young Atchew, in about 1780. He tried to set up a sugar mill but lost his grip on the business because of inadequate funds and unskilled labour. Following his death, his associates and workmen remained and their numbers were augmented when sailors from a Chinese ship abandoned their vessel and opted to stay in the city.
With every fresh influx, the community renewed its cultural links with "Mother China" and maintained its distinct identity and separateness.
The second round of migration was precipitated by Mao Zedong's revolution - most were Cantonese. They settled along Chitpore Road and near Chhatawala Gully in north Calcutta. A labyrinth of noodle kitchens, Chinese homes and opium dens was born.
Despite being permanently settled in India, the 1962 war between India and China sparked tremors of anxiety among the Chinese in Calcutta and elsewhere (there are a handful of Chinese families in every major Indian city, but the total number is estimated at 9,000).
The war was brief and bloody, and confined to the border, but it left Indians feeling betrayed and humiliated; many Chinese with a Chinese passport had to register with the authorities, and some were detained. But this was a brief interlude. Life soon returned to normal and the Chinese continued the professions with which they had become associated. Ask an Indian woman who cuts her hair and she will invariably give a Chinese name. Ask an affluent Indian consumer where he buys good hand-made shoes, and the answer will be a Chinese shoemaker.
Dentistry, carpentry and teaching were other popular professions. But it was leather that quickly became the chief trade of the Hakka community because the Chinese were able to skirt Hindu taboos about working with the skins of the sacred cow. Only low-caste Hindus tan leather. Upper caste Hindus would rather chop their hands off.
Of course, the tanneries have added their quota of filth to a city notorious for dirt and decay. And while the narrow alleyways of Chinatown do have heavily polluted water running through them, appearances are deceptive. Behind high walls or in the deep recesses of factories built like miniature fortresses, wealthy families live in palaces.
The tanneries are the heart of Chinatown. Once they move out, the enclave's oxygen supply will be choked. Some owners are not moving to Bantala. "I'm too old to start again. I have neither the money nor the energy," says Patrick Chew, 53, at his half-century-old tannery. "My sons aren't interested in this business. They're on their way to Canada and Australia."
If there is one thing that might save Chinatown from going the way of the Indian tiger, it is the Calcuttan passion for Chinese food. They are widely considered the best in the country.
Many tannery owners are moving their leather business to Bantala and transforming their cavernous tanneries into restaurants. John Lee's tannery is now called Hot Wok. "I know the people of this city love Chinese food. So instead of losing a tannery, we turned it into a modern restaurant."
Chen Khoi Kui, secretary of the Chinese Tannery Owners' Association, is another staying put in Tangra to open a restaurant. "I realised I had to diversify," he says. "There is a lot of potential here. Tannery owners can develop shopping plazas, nursing homes or pharmacies."
Mr Kui's three children have stayed on in India, although they went abroad for a higher education. He was born in Calcutta. He says although the Chinese in India, like Chinese all over the world, are basically insular - living by the dictum "we don't want to know about your business and don't ask about ours" - their emotional bond with India is strong.
"I will never leave. This is my motherland. No other place in the world can give me this feeling," says Mr Kui.
XXXXX
Interesting bits from the above article:
The people of Calcutta - the only Indian city with a Chinese enclave - are worried about the impact of this drastic move on their precious Chinatown.
--
About seven years ago, there were 20,000 Hakka Chinese in Calcutta. It was a vibrant community, with its own schools, social clubs and newspapers. Now there are closer to 7,000. The younger ones, underwhelmed by the idea of a career in tanning, have moved to Canada, the US and Australia.
--
"The Lee Club used to be alive with all sorts of activities. Now it's deserted. All the young do is dream of settling in developed countries."
--
"You know, in Tangra, we speak the purest form of Hakka anywhere in the world," he says. "Even in its original home, it has been diluted by infiltrating dialects. But here the only two non-Hakka words are the Hindi accha good and aloo potato ."
--
If there is one thing that might save Chinatown from going the way of the Indian tiger, it is the Calcuttan passion for Chinese food. They are widely considered the best in the country.
--
"I will never leave. This is my motherland. No other place in the world can give me this feeling," says Mr Kui.
XXXXX
It’s a shame that India doesn’t develop faster so that the young Chinese wouldn’t have to emigrate to the US, Canada and Australia.
Has any of the Indian Hakkas been to your World-wide Hakka Meetings?
Has anyone bothered to digitally record the “purest” Hakka speech? With computers and the like someone should do it and put it out on CD-ROM. It shouldn’t be too expensive since everyone has PCs with recordable CD-ROM and DVD drives now.
It’s a shame that the Hakkas have left India. But, it’s good that they were able to relocate to the US, Canada and Australia.
And it's obvious that Mr. Kui loves his “motherland” of India. :-)
Kobo-Daishi, PLLA.
Fromhttp://www.asiawind.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=6527&t=6527
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