Tale of two cities: French writer-diplomat’s take on Yangon and Kolkata

Fabrice Etienne, who served in both cities, has released his recent book of short stories ‘Burmese Portraits’

French diplomat and author Fabrice Etienne

Drawing parallels between two old British-ruled cities of Asia – Kolkata and Yangon – French diplomat Fabrice Etienne, who served in both Kolkata and Yangon, said that his experiences regarding religion in the two cities are “vastly different”.

While in Kolkata and India there was no single religio-cultural identity, in Myanmar life centers around Buddhism, said Mr. Etienne, the French Consul general in Kolkata till recently. Mr. Etienne, who is now a writer in France and prefers to identify himself as a “story teller”, said that one could be “a Hindu, a Muslim, a Christian or a Jain and each one can still be an Indian” in Kolkata.

“Whereas for the Burmese, being Burmese was synonymous to being Buddhist,” he said, releasing his recent book of short stories

Burmese Portraits in Kolkata. Mr. Etienne finds strong resemblance between Yangon, seized by British in mid-19th century through wars, and Kolkata which was slowly annexed by British East India Company through transfer of taxation rights. But differnces are many and Mr. Etienne cited an example to elaborate his argument.

“In Kolkata we can’t say that a particular religious place is the centre of religio-cultural life of the Bengalis. But in Yangon, the Shwedagon Pagoda is clearly the spiritual centre of the Burmese people,” said Mr. Etienne, who was speaking at the the seminar, titled “A Tale of Two Cities: Calcutta and Yangon

”.

“For the Burmese people the ties with Buddhism are strong as ever and we can think of one religio-cultural identity...they [Myanmarese] have held on to their Buddhist tradition far more than people in Kolkata,” he added.

Talking to Kolkata book lovers who are acquainted with his earlier offering

Ghosts of Calcutta , Mr. Etienne pointed out that the architect of the Writers’ Building, the administrative seat of British India and later Bengal government in Kolkata, is the same man who designed the secretariat in Yangon. However, Kolkata held on to British "influences”.

“Both Calcutta and Rangoon [Yangon] were British cities. However, the British influences on the two cities is much more visible in today’s Kolkata compared to Yangon.”

In conversation, the former French Consul in Kolkata argued that the British legacy in Burma may have been severely truncated after independence in 1948 because of the actions of the military junta which ruled the country for half a century. However, he also feels that it was easier for him to see the lives of ordinary Burmese in Yangon whereas in Kolkata, the elite presence somewhat overshadows the lives of ordinary people of the city.