Local boys keep alive Chinese lion dance

Bishwabijoy Mitra | TNN | Nov 30, 2017, Kolkata: If only Jackie Chan knew. Inspired by a sequence in one of the action star's films, a man of Chinese origin in Kolkata is fighting to save the glorious tradition of lion dance from extinction. Combining martial arts, age-old values and dance moves, lion dance has been performed during the Chinese New Year celebrations for years. Today, with the city's Chinese community dwindling, 47-year-old Master James Liao has trained boys from other communities to carry the baton forward — with a little help from the master of martial arts, Jackie Chan!

INSPIRATION IN A VIDEOTAPE

Liao, like many others of the Chinese community in Kolkata, grew up in Tangra. His father had started a tannery and the family never had to worry about money. But since childhood, he was interested in lion dance and was part of a troupe during the new year celebrations. "It was the same as a Bengali boy participating in Kali Puja immersions," he says.

It was the '80s, and without internet and smartphones, the world was a big place full of mysteries. The 13-year-old had little means of upgrading his knowledge. Then one day, he got hold of a video cassette of a Jackie Chan movie. "I would repeatedly see the three-minute lion dance sequence and try to imitate the moves," Liao remembers.

He learnt a bit by imitation, but the film kept his passion alive. Finally, in 2001, at the age of 31, he started his own lion dance troupe with friends. The first few years passed without much ado, but in 2006 the internet became a game-changer. Liao and his friends started seeing YouTube videos by world-renowned troupes from China and Malaysia. The work of one particular troupe — Malaysia-based lion and dragon dance troupe Kun Seng Keng led by grandmaster Ziao Fe Hong — caught their attention. "For the first time we realised how far behind we were lagging," he says.

LEARNING FROM THE MASTER 

The first crisis to hit Liao's troupe was in 2007, when one of his good friends and a troupe member moved to Canada with his family. "Many Chinese families were leaving Kolkata to settle abroad. I had not given it much thought earlier. But that incident made me realise that we would have to do something to keep our tradition alive," he adds.

The uneasiness kept gnawing at him till 2013, when Liao went for a vacation to Malaysia with his family. There he not only met grandmaster Ziao, but also convinced him to accept Liao as his disciple. "It was like Al Pacino agreeing to teach a struggling actor from Kolkata how to act. I was more than thrilled!" he recalls. For almost the entire vacation, Liao trained with the grandmaster. "My wife did not talk to me for a month." But the sacrifice proved to be a boon. He not only learnt new steps, but also understood the meaning of De (the eight virtues of Chinese martial arts). Since then, Liao visits Malaysia twice every year for training.

Back home in Kolkata, everyone was stunned to see Liao's new moves. "My technique was the best and none of the 20-odd clubs in Tangra could compete with me," he said. But this also led to some tension within the community. Lion dance shows are a source of income, and none of the clubs liked the fact that Liao was getting all the attention. Some of the clubs lured his students away with extra money. "My disciples did not follow the first virtue of De, which is loyalty. It was my failure as a teacher," Liao says philosophically. So disappointed was he, that he gave up teaching altogether.

PASSING ON THE BATON

But the bigger problem was the fast-dwindling Chinese community. It worried Liao, but he didn't have a solution to it. Then one night, while he was going to his bed, he heard someone playing the drums. To his surprise, he discovered it was his elder daughter. From the next day, he started training his two daughters and nephew.

Gradually, more and more children came to him to learn the dance — but many of them were non-Chinese boys from the locality. "There were very few Chinese boys, but I had no problem teaching anyone if they maintained the principles of De. It was something I'd learnt from my grandmaster," he says. As he roped in the local boys, all the Chinese ones apart from his nephew left his class. "The dance involves some stunts and there are risks of injury. So a lot of beginners leave after the first few weeks. But since a lot of non-Chinese boys had come to train, I was finally with 13 local Bengali and Bihari boys," he adds. This club, which he named India Hong De, trains for two to three hours every day inside the tannery complex abandoned by his family.

MARTIAL ARTS FOR THE MIND

Liao's grandmaster had once told him: "Don't worry about students. The right ones always stay", and Liao believes this. He soon realised that many of the boys came from economically vulnerable and disturbed backgrounds. They would be able to use the teachings of De — the understanding of loyalty, righteousness, courage, wisdom — in their daily lives.

Gradually, his students became more disciplined and soft-spoken. Their youthful energy, which got expressed through rowdiness, took a different course. Md Aziz Khan, a local 20-year-old, has been training under Liao for four years. In 2013, he was hanging around with a bunch of delinquents and would often get involved in street fights. "Within six months of training, my attitude started changing. In every situation, De would stop me from doing wrong things," he says.

Md Amir Khan, 29, says that lion dance has changed his life entirely. "After a few months of training, I noticed that I was not losing control even in the most difficult situations. You forget what stress is and there is a unique peace of mind," he feels.

Liao counts this change as one of his biggest achievements. While most institutes in the city stress on the physical aspects of martial arts training, he gives more importance to the mind. "This is the main objective of martial arts. This is not some self-defence technique, but a way of life. This comes automatically to anyone learning martial arts properly," he says.

EYE ON THE FUTURE

But the journey was never easy. The first hurdle was financial. Liao can't even remember how much money he's spent on imported drums, gongs, masks and costumes. Besides, lion dance is performed in the air on a series of narrow pillars, which cost him a fortune. "Because of our skill, we've got a good number of shows. With that money, I've slowly built what I have today," Liao says with a smile.

Within the community in Tangra, Liao's radical move to take in non-Chinese boys did not go down well. He was criticised and people took it as an insult to their culture and traditions. "He is teaching alright. But can he guarantee that this tradition will not be misused or disrespected? Only someone Chinese can do this," said John Yue, a local Chinese man.

Liao, however, doesn't mind the barbs. "I still don't know why they are not proud. At the end of the day, it is Chinese culture performed by a group of non-Chinese boys. It a matter of pride that even the non-Chinese community are accepting our culture," he says. The pace at which the Chinese exodus is taking place, after a few decades there may not be enough members of the community to keep this century-old tradition alive. And these boys, feels Liao, will carry the dance form on their shoulders long after he — and even Jackie Chan — are gone.