Thank you Hollyrob for sending me the article from the Jerusalem Post about the old synagogue at Cochin in the South Indian state of Kerala. It revived memories of my visit to the synagogue almost two decades ago. Even if one is not a Jew you would find wonderful vibrations once you are inside.
Some sources say that the earliest Jews were those who settled in the Malabar coast (in Kerala) during the times of King Solomon of Israel, and after the Kingdom of Israel split into two (David de Beth Hillel, 1832; Lord, James Henry 1977), says search.com. They are sometimes referred to as the ‘black Jews’. The Paradesi Jews, also called ‘White Jews’, settled later, coming to India from European and Middle Eastern nations such as Holland and Spain, and bringing with them the Ladino language.
“Jews came to Kerala and settled as early as 700 BC for trade… Spanish and Portuguese Jews (Sephardim) settled in Goa in the 15th century, but this settlement eventually disappeared. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Cochin had an influx of Jewish settlers from the Middle East, North Africa and Spain.”
The floor of the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin is covered in blue-and-white tiles brought from China in 1762. Of the 1,100 hand-painted tiles, no two are alike.
Crystal chandeliers and delicate colored-glass lamps adorn the building, and illuminate the gilded ark. More than 500 Jewish tourists visit the synagogue every day during tourist season.
I was intrigued by the observation in the Jerusalem Post that non-Jews are not allowed inside the Paradesi synagogue. There was no such restriction two decades back when I visited the synagogue.
“After India gained its independence, the Jewish community of Cochin numbered approximately 3,000, and there were eight independent synagogues. Another reason why there was a reduction in Jewish population in old times was conversion to Christianity.With the founding of the State of Israel, the exodus of the Jews of Cochin began, and increased after 1954. Sadly, it is a Jewish community in the twilight of its days.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.