A Calcutta Christmas (1998)

• 68%
• 1998
• Maree Delofski

For a tiny p population of Britain's glory days heading an empire of nearly a billion people in a single land, Christmas holds a special promise. The Anglo-Indian residents of a home for the elderly in Calcutta (1997) celebrate their Christian holiday amidst a fully-realized nation of Hindus and Muslims. They are a living anachronism, foretold by the 17th century East India Company's admonition that its young unmarried English employees seek out Indian women to be their wives, thus solidifying the empire. Cast out for being too Indian, or not Indian enough, their 20th century descendants live out their final days supported by a charity itself descended from colonial times. This little documentary was filmed by an Australian crew, spurred on by the knowledge that many Anglo-Indian descendants abandoned their forebears and emigrated to Commonwealth countries. But one need not be British to appreciate this film. More than displaced nationality, it is about being old and forgotten in a fast-paced world. And knowing that however discomforting the notion, it is your fellow elderly unwanted who will be your closest compatriots in your waning years.