“Aṅkām” was the Tamil word for Hong Kong on a 1899 tombstone in the Hindu Cemetery in Happy Valley.

This was a nice little project I had when I had to return to HK from UK at the beginning of the pandemic almost two years ago. I have always been fascinated by the history of the Indians in HK and was curious why there was a Hindu cemetery in HK (Hindus usually cremate their deceased). The investigation brought me to many interesting people and their stories — the “Madras Lascars” in the 1860s and the experiences of the Indians who decided to settle among the Chinese in a foreign land under British rule.

I was told that my paper titled “THE HINDU TEMPLE IN HONG KONG AND ITS NINETEENTH-CENTURY CEMETERY” would likely be published in 2023. This will be my second contribution to the Journal of Royal Asiatic Society HK after my previous paper on the Japanese monk Utsuki in HK during WWII.

Going through Prof. Jao’s “Indological library” I found a very nice book on Indian scripts. Having learned to read Tamil script, I shall try to learn Gujarati next. Those inscriptions in the Parsee Cemetery right next to the Hindu Cemetery need to be read by someone!

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