The dwindling population of people of Chinese descent in the city is forcing them to change their customs. Unable to perform the complex process of burial, members of the community have started to cremate the dead.

Sheikh Kausar, who has been working as the head sentry of the Chinese cemetery on DC Dey Road, near Sealdah, for the past 30 years, says: “The Chinese bury the dead and dig up the bones four months later. The bones are buried again to complete the process.” The rituals involved are complex and difficult to follow for family members who are settled abroad.

Hence, “for the past four-five years, people of the Chinese community are burning their dead at Keoratala. The family members obtain permission from the civic body to carry the ashes with them abroad or deposit them at Chowbhaga Chinese Mandir”, explains managing director of Chinese Welfare Association Li Chih Chuan. “Those residing abroad offer prayers to the ashes of the dead. A Hindu priest performs the rites for those who leave the ashes at the mandir.”

Chuan adds: “Apart from visiting the cemetery to bury the dead, on two days in a year, we go there to offer prayers in the memory of the departed. This is known as Paishan.”

Convenience is not the only consideration for the change in custom. “We had nine cemeteries in Calcutta. The one near Tangra Mathpukur was taken over by the local residents. They built houses in the cemetery and started living there. The entire area has been occupied now,” states Chuan.

Scores of letters to the authorities and years of discussions with political leaders have yielded no results. Chung, however, refuses to complain of discrimination. “It’s quite natural that an open plot will be encroached on. But the encroachments should have been removed,” he asserts.

The shift has endangered the livelihoods of those who work in the Chinese cemeteries. “Earlier, a large number of people used to come here to bury their dead or on Paishan. They used to tip us. With everyone leaving the country, hardly anyone visits the cemetery now. I now earn Rs 900 a month. How can I sustain myself on this pittance?” asks Kausar.