#101 traces

Subscribe to 101 India.

Meet Sonia Shirsat: The Ambassador of Goan music to the world. Fado is a form of traditional Portuguese music dating back before the 19th century. It is arguably the oldest urban folk music in the world. Sonia Shirsat is the best Fado singer or 'Fadista' in India, and perhaps one of the best in the world. She has performed on stages around the world, singing in 13 languages!

Thanks to her, Calcuttans know what Chinese food made by Chinese people tastes like. When most people look at Monica Liu, they see a smiling restaurant owner in Tangra, Kolkata. But this unassuming grandmother of nine is also known as the Don of Chinatown. Monica Liu owns and runs five authentic Chinese restaurants in Kolkata - Kim Ling & Beijing in Tangra, Tung Fong in Park Street, and branches of her restaurant Mandarin on Sarat Bose Road, and Lake Avenue. She's been awarded the Best Woman Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003. But Kolkata's woman of steel comes fom humble beginnings. During the Indo-China war in 1962, when Monica was just a child, her entire family was arrested and taken to Deoli Camp, Rajasthan. Finally, it was when Monica and another young boy in the camp wrote a letter to the Home Minister, their release orders were processed. Forgotten for five years in the camp, when the family finally returned to Kolkata, they had lost their home, their friends and almost everything else. Starting a new life, Monica's mother would make momos to sell to make ends meet. It was from helping her mother every evening that Monica's journey began. Finally, in 1991, she opened Kim Ling, the family's first restaurant. When goons tried to intimidate the family into giving them free food, Monica responded in kind, eventually earning her the title 'Don of Tangra'.

Kolkata's quaint hand pulled rickshaws may not be around much longer. Naresh Yadav has operated a hand-pulled rickshaw in Kolkata for 45 years. Ever since he came to the city following his uncle's footsteps, it's all he's ever known how to do. Starting his day at 6am, Naresh plies the bylanes of Kolkata, hoping to pick up a fare. When he started doing this for a living, the fare used to be 30 paise. Today, it's Rs. 20. Saving what he can, he sends home a meagre Rs. 2000-5000 a month to his family back in Bihar.

The African community that is India's hope for an Olympic medal. The Siddis are a community that migrated from East Africa to India between the 15th and 19th century. In 1987, the Sports Authority of India set up the Special Area Games program to scout and train members of the Siddi community to perform as athletes for India on the international stage.