FROM NOWHERE

Henry, a carefree 26 year old, is a member of the microscopic Hakka Chinese community of Kolkata, a tiny ethnic minority which is on the brink of erasure.

Henry lives in the moment. Henry's girlfriend Hillary, runs a small restaurant with her mother, and is the more pragmatic and ambitious of the two. Henry comes over to her restaurant for dinner one evening, where he is welcomed warmly by Hillary's mother, while Hillary herself seems somewhat preoccupied.

As the dinner progresses, Hillary unexpectedly drops a bombshell which leaves Henry devastated. She has decided to move abroad, like most young people in the community. She voices her frustration at Henry's refusal to grow up, his lackadaisical approach towards life and career, and specifically about how he refuses to acknowledge the fact that as members of the Chinese ethnic minority, they can never entirely integrate into Indian society.

She pleads with Henry to follow her to Canada, a hard choice which is sensible and practical, yet unacceptable to Henry. Henry is forced to do some soul searching about his life choices, his identity and his relationship with the city he calls his home.

He is counselled by a mentor (James) who alludes to the fact that the word “Hakka” literally translates to “Guest Family” in Mandarin, a reference to the  nomadic history of the Hakka people.
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James further advises him to forgo his attachment to the city of his birth, and go wherever fate and destiny take him, true to the nature of the Hakka people, who have for centuries wandered from one place to another in search of fortune and sustenance. He muses that the Hakka people don’t feel a sense of belonging anywhere, and “all places are the same” for them, as wherever they go, they are condemned to a fate of being viewed as outsiders.
 
Henry witnesses a group of Hindu right wing youth biking through the streets loudly chanting militant slogans

As he ponders about his life choices, a chance encounter with a friend at a late night tea stall helps Henry achieve closure in his mind.