Anglo-Indian residential care homes: accounts from Kolkata and Melbourne

Research was conducted in four Anglo-Indian residential care facilities (one in Melbourne and three in Kolkata) which identified the distinctly Anglo-Indian characteristics of the institutions and sought to ascertain residents' attitudes towards and reasons for living in them. The methods used were ethnographic: participant observation fieldwork combined with semi-structured informal interviews over the course of multiple research visits. The histories of the institutions were examined, including the purpose of their establishment. All four institutions are unique, but share common characteristics such as distinctly Anglo-Indian food, religious observance, and hospitality. Residents' values and background, accents, and their (and their children's) migration experiences are also shared. This article looks closely at what makes these homes distinctly Anglo-Indian, and compares residents' narratives about why they chose to live in the ethnic-specific residential facilities in the two cities. This forms the basis for the argument presented here that in an increasingly globalised world the need for ethnic-specific homes for residents to spend their last years in a culturally familiar environment is growing rapidly. In conjunction with this is a need for published research on such homes to provide models for these types of facilities.