Spring Festival celebrations cherished in Indian cities and towns

Chinese locals and expatriates are doing their best to make sure Spring Festival remains a cherished time despite the surge of the Omicron variant.

In Tangra, an old Chinatown on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, celebrations are underway.

In what was until a few years ago a tannery, local Chinese organised Dragon Dances, music shows and a two-day food festival on Feb 4 and 5 during the festival. Food stalls were set up and traditional Chinese dishes including steamed buns, meatballs, noodles and dim sum will be served.

Tiretti Bazaar is in the central part of a city which was the capital of British India more than 110 years ago. As the Lunar New Year approaches, the whole area is decorated with red lanterns hung on the lanes, alleyways and balconies. Red couplets have been pasted on doors as symbols of the year's prosperity.

"Anyone who is Chinese will do their best to create his or her own patch of China. It doesn't matter where they are. In fact, this the simplest way to stay emotionally connected with the nation they originally belong to," a middle-aged man surnamed Bobby told China Daily.

Bobby sells "authentic Chinese food" at Tiretti Bazaar, which is known as a popular Chinese breakfast hub. Several mainstay dishes such as chicken momo, fish momo, pork dumplings, prawn wafers, pork and chicken buns buns are sold and served there.

"Spring Festival binds and unites us. This is the time when many Chinese return home to be with their families. Dishes as crab meat dumplings, shui jiao dumplings, nian gao, gan shao xia and Beijing duck are special attractions," he added.

In normal times, Tiretti Bazaar is crowded with people of Chinese origin during the Lunar New Year, but this year local Chinese are being cautious due to the pandemic -- a once lavish and elaborate affair with performances, food stalls, decorations and music has become a private celebration kept inside the home.

This year there were few if any large-scale events, but people still held family get-togethers in Chinese households, according to a man named Michael, 45.

"Everybody is asking us to follow lockdown rules. It's best everybody stays home and stays safe. We will have a meal and watch online performances held across the globe," the father of two added.

"Now with the pandemic, we welcome the Year of the Tiger by decorating our houses, saying prayers at home, and of course organizing reunion dinners. This is something we have waited for throughout the year."

India's COVID-19 tally rose to 42,339,611 on Tuesday, with 67,597 new cases registered during the past 24 hours according to the federal health ministry. A figure of 1,188 deaths due to the pandemic since Monday morning took the total death toll to 504,062.

Roy Ye, a Chinese professional who spent years working in big Indian cities such as Delhi before 2020, said he would always attend the Lunar New Year events organized by the local Chinese embassy, where people get together to enjoy Chinese food and experience live performances of traditional Chinese drama, such as the Huangmei Opera, staged by local troupes who traveled all the way from China.

"It's still a good, spectacular memory, especially when you were alone in India away from family back home," he said.

Now back in China, he found many of the celebrations among Chinese communities have moved online.

Jane Ye, who moved to Mumbai after getting married, agreed. She said all local Lunar New Year celebrations were the same except virtual, and the Chinese diaspora in India were obeying social distancing and anti-pandemic rules to avoid eat-outs or large gatherings.

To the surprise of Anika Song in Delhi, she received a caring gift pack sent from the Chinese Embassy in India, which brought her a sense of festivity and warmth.

Arunava Das is a freelance journalist for China Daily. Contact the writers at vivien@chinadailyapac.com.