New Year brings mixed emotions for Kolkata Chinese

Even after decades in India, the heartbreak of leaving China in search of a better life still hurts, said leather factory owner Liang Chen, his eyes moist with tears."It was sad to leave so many close ones back home for many of us," said Chen, who moved to the city in West Bengal with his family shortly after the Second World War.

Now, Kolkata's Chinatown faces more painful goodbyes, as it loses its own younger generation overseas, said Chen.The local government's relocation of polluting tanneries out of town broke up the leather tanning industry that was the lifeblood of the Chinese community.Fierce competition from local manufacturers has hit those still in the industry, prompting many to move to Canada, Australia and even back to China.The city's ethnic Chinese population is estimated to have fallen from 20,000 in its heyday, to between 5,500-7,000 now. Many of those who have decided to stay have turned their factories into Chinese restaurants, Chen said.

He fears the changing economic tide might sweep away the community that he helped build."We know that it is a race against time, but this is our home", he said.Pessimism is no way to start the Lunar New Year, however.The festival's many customs, observed by millions of Chinese communities around the globe, all link back to the idea of inviting good fortune and prosperity, and chasing away bad luck.

For weeks, adults and children in Kolkata's Chinatown, known as Tangra, have been rehearsing dragon dances, putting up red flags and banners, and repainting the rows of houses, factories and restaurants that run along its winding, dirty streets.

Many migrants who left Kolkata for bigger cities such as Bangalore and Toronto in Canada, have already returned to welcome the Year of the Rat.

"We are expecting hundreds of Chinese who were born in Tangra to come back and celebrate with us for the next few days," said Chen Khir Kui, secretary of the South Tangra Chinese Youth Club, which is organising the celebrations in Tangra.

 One such returnee, Jimmy Chong, 40, sat drinking tea at a local stall as he inquired about the timing of the annual parade and dance that he used to attend every year."It is wonderful to be back home and stand in the very road where I danced all night with my school friends many years ago," said Chong.

A day-long strike called by an ally of the ruling Communists in West Bengal on Wednesday and an outbreak of bird flu in the state that has led to poultry products being banned, have failed to dampen spirits, said locals keen to celebrate.

"We are opting for fish, lamb, pork and crabs this week, as nothing can stop our party," said K.T. Chang, editor of Overseas Chinese Commerce of India, the only Chinese newspaper in the country.

Lunar New Year is no time to be gloomy, said Liang Chen."Now it is time to forget our worries and celebrate," he said.