China Town conjures up visions of the past glory and has become the unavoidable place for any visitor, local or foreign, to the island. It bubbles with activity and offers an intoxicating slice of China. Everyday, thousands of commuters from different backgrounds and cultures shop in China Town. It is a crossroads of cultures with inter-ethnic harmony and tolerance : Chinese pagodas, Jummah Mosque and Mariamen Kovil co-exist side by side. It exerts a magnetic appeal to one and all with its Chinese goods shops, pagodas, Chinese printing press, road-side food hawkers and restaurants. It has a special feel, flavour and music, transporting us to China instantly.

For two days, the streets of China Town will reverberate with the heavy footsteps of its early immigrants. From here, many have languidly made their way to unknown distant villages to start a living. Mauritius became an Eldorado for them (just like the Indian indentured labourers) as they fled dire poverty and political instability. China Town is nestled with numerous ‘Kwongs’ (clan-clubs) where they lingered for a while before embarking on their odyssey to their respective iron-corrugated shops without realising that a life of misery and deprivation would be waiting them.

China Town has always been the Cultural Centre of the tiny Chinese community. It is still a place of intensive social gatherings on special occasions like Spring festival, mid-Autumn festival, the Lantern festival, Dragon’s Boat festival, and Chee Chiang (souls’ service). Behind the edifice of the ‘kwongs’, amidst the cacophonic sounds of mah-jong, the ‘kaptans’ (a term of endearment for Chinese shopkeepers) came to read nostalgically their letters from the distant Meixian or Guandong, to dig capital to furnish their shops with sufficient goods with money-lending scheme through contribution among members of the Chinese community and discuss anxiously their problems while listening to the ‘sang ko’ (the folkloric songs of the Hakka people from the mountains).

China Town was once the granary of the island and from it converged lorries stacked high with goods of basic necessity to far-away places. The ‘kaptans’ became the first bankers of the island: they introduced ‘roulement’ (the system of credit) in those days when the banking system was almost unknown, money was scarce and life was really tough. They alleviated the untold sufferings of many a villager during inter-crop season and they became totally integrated in village-life through acculturation. Surprisingly, many of them are conversant in bhojpuri.

The older generations have all experienced exciting life in China Town. There was much social interaction. Who can forget the Young Men’s Primary School and Villiers René Government School? They were instrumental in the promotion of the Chinese community for social mobility and uplifting. The Chinese Middle School became the cradle of the promotion and preservation of Chinese culture. So many have been nurtured in this school. Its basket-ball pitch became a nursery for youth social gatherings and has produced a whole host of stars coming from social clubs like Ya Chow, Dragon, Attila and Real.

A visit to China Town cannot be complete without an incursion into the road-side market of Arsenal Street (renamed Sun Yat Sen Street). It offers glimpses of little China. Old men and women amble their way while speaking fluently Hakka or Cantonese. One feels like in the streets of Meixian and Guandong. In the past it was a pride for many of the Chinese community to come and stay in China Town after toiling hard in the village shops. But now the wheel of history has reversed itself: many have deserted China Town and gone elsewhere to live in new ‘morcellements’. It has lost much its soul of bygone years. But there is a glimmer of hope: much of China Town will fall under the periphery of the buffer zone conceived by UNESCO and many of its ancient buildings will be preserved and renovated to maintain its authenticity if ever Apravasi Ghat is proclaimed World Heritage.

For two days during the coming week-end, China Town will regain its radiance. It will vibrate with life and regain its soul. But food festival does not suffice to revive it. A greater challenge awaits us. A long-term planning is vital to save this heritage.

<B>Philip Li Ching Hum</B>