France came back to Bengal last week.
Chandernagar on he bank of the river Hoogly was one of 5 French settlements in India in colonial times since around 1696. In fact because it was under French control many Indian freedom fighters had hidden there to escape the British.
When India gained independence in 1947, Chandannagar still was a French settlement. The French held a plebiscite and the citizens of Chandannagar overwhelmingly voted to join the newly independent state of India. One of the few peaceful colonial transitions.
The French connection slowly faded except for some old buildings from colonial days on the strand, the promenade along the river.
This is Sandip Roy in Chandannagar.
The strand was a study in red white and blue. Chandananaar’s lighting artists had built displays showing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and other French landmarks.
A young woman stood in a booth sang French songs
FRENCH SONG 1
While at another booth, a choir sang Bengali songs
BENGALI SONG
In an effort to recreate the Left Bank, there were a little stalls where artists sketched portraits, even a cart selling flowers though these were plastic. someone recited poetry in French and English and a marching band struck up a tune.
POETRY1
MARCHING BAND
The reason for all this? The French Ambassador was in town to sign a memorandum of understanding with the local West Bengal government to restore the Registry, a dilapidated building at the edge of the Strand.
The restoration plans had started in 2011. At the ceremony to mark the occasion the ambassador said that the building had waited 15 years while governments changed, cyclones ripped through the town and Covid 19 halted all plans.
THIERRY1: this building was has waited through changing circumstances, changing administrations, cyclones and the destruction centre of a COVID-19
Architect Asihwariya Tipnis told the crowd the building was so dilapidated with roots growing out of its wall, it seemed only suitable to film a horror movie. A bhoot bangla or haunted house.
Now it would be restored but not to become a museum, but something the city could use with a tourist centre, a library and cafe, its walled courtyard a tribute to both Bengal and France. And when it is done it will be proof that demolition isn’t the only answer for these old neglected buildings Tipnis said in a noisy auditorium to a capacity crowd.
TIPNIS2: in fact, proof of concept, therefore, building this dilapidated, can be resurrected there is hope.
That will not happen tomorrow. But its proof the ambassador said that. Heritage isn’t just nostalgia. Its also something to build upon.
THIERRY2A: Heritage is not nostalgia alone.
THIERRY2: The citizens were increasingly looking at the heritage not simply as something to remember, but as something t to build upon.
Outside on the street, a young woman waving French and Indian flags said she had been waiting for hours but didn’t care. She was just excited her city’s French roots could be part of its future not just its past.
WOMAN1:This is the first time
Obviously. I am so excited
The registry restoration will take time but the ambassador wants to start a French festival in Chandanagar next year to celebrate the affection Chandanagar still had for its French connection. And of course a French town in a part of the world known for its sweet tooth can only mean dessert heaven. A booth by the Indian Institute of Hotel Management listed what was on offer.
DESSERT1: These are French kitchen specialties, madline financier. Brownita is not French is American, but the chocolate ruffle balls,
But the star was a Bengali sandesh, a crumbly milk based sweet unique to these parts. The hotel management school had a patent out for a healthier version of the sandesh says chef Shilajit Ghosh. So even diabetic patients can have it because it uses stevia not sugar. And the edible charcoal detoxes your body by absorbing impurities.
DESSERT2: Edible Charcoal detox kore body.
But to add a French touch to a classic Bengali sweet they had had added a bit of camembert cheese.
DESSERT3:nFrench specific cheese aache Camembert. Ota aamra er bhetore add korechi
What could be a sweeter beginning than that for a French city with a Bengali heart? Or is it the other way around?
FRENCH ANTHEM
This is Sandip Roy in Chandannagar for KALW