The annual sports meet, held around Christmas, was the most anticipated event, with the Christmas hamper being the biggest draw at the end of the day. The hamper consisted of traditional homemade goodies; cake, wine, jam, jelly and pickle, contributed by each family. These savouries often ended up in boarders’ tuck boxes, and in the luggage bags of visiting relatives.

In her book titled The Joys of Jams, Jellies, and Other Sweet Preserves: 200 Classic and Contemporary recipes Showcasing the Fabulous Flavours of Fresh Fruits, author Linda Ziedrich describes the strong emotional connect with making jams and jellies: ‘A jar of jam or jelly is a memory brought back to life, less bright than the original, but sweeter and mellower.’ For residents of McCluskiegunj, the flavours of these preserves, evoke a nostalgia for their hometown. Roderick S. Cameron, who now lives in Bahrain, and whose family once had a flourishing school at McCluskiegunj that would convert into a guest house during holiday season, says, “My heart is always in the Gunj,” a term residents often use to refer to their hometown. He recalls the fun times spent there, the community gatherings, and the tradition of making jam. “My wife Patricia too would make guava jelly. We had quite a few trees at our place, but would also source the fruit from Konka (a village on the outskirts of the township),” says Cameron.

With guava trees in almost every resident’s backyard, and long, languid summer days that confined people indoors, when power cuts were the norm of the season, the best way to pass the time time was by making guava jelly from the summer crop — considered the sweetest from sun-ripening. But over the years, although the guava yield has not dwindled, the vibrant community of over 300 families has. With migration in search of better job prospects, barely a dozen Anglo-Indian families remain. Those who still inhabit McCluskiegunj have taken it upon themselves to ensure these traditional flavours aren’t lost forever.

Malcolm Hourigan who runs a hostel for school students here, and whose family were among the first settlers, believes the only way to preserve these traditional flavours is by making them at home. Sharing his family recipe, he says, “I wash, peel and deseed the ripe guavas, and boil them for about an hour, on low flame. Then allow them to cool before straining through a clean cloth. Add sugar to the juice, and boil it once again, until you reach the right consistency, adding a tablespoon of butter, and when done, lime juice, for preservation.”

And if there’s anything Hourigan loves more that recreating his family recipes, it is distributing jars of homemade jams and jellies, so more people can savour the traditional Anglo-Indian flavours he cherishes so deeply.

Lesley D Biswas is a freelance writer from Kolkata.

Banner image by Aysha Tanya

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