The Last Jews of Kerala

Title: The Last Jews of Kerala

Author: Edna Fernandes

Publisher: Portobello, 2009 (First published 2008)

ISBN: 9781846270994

Pages: 258

Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, but it is also one which is persecuted the most. Without sounding anti-Semitic, a plausible reason for this prejudice is the fierce religious zeal of many of its adherents and the belief that they are the only chosen people of god. With a history stretching to the time of Pharaohs, the Jews suffered at the hands of every bigot, every dictator and every psychotic ruler. The Holocaust, in which nearly six million Jews were exterminated in Europe during the Second World War is very recent episode, when compared to the long Jewish history on earth. There was only one place in the globe where they were not discriminated against, and in fact was encouraged to stay and prosper. India is the only country where the Jews were welcomed and absorbed into its multi-pointed society. Kerala is a small coastal state in the south-western periphery of India, where Jewish presence is attested even before Christ. After a prosperous life spanning three millennia, the society decided to transplant themselves to the desert soil of the new state of Israel when it was formed in 1948. This book tells the sad story of the Jews remaining in Kerala, who are members of a society whose doom is sure to materialize in the near future. There are not sufficient men and women of marriageable age and the lack of partners drive many youngsters to emigrate to Israel. The aged have decided to stay put in their homeland for the duration of their lives. Among a slew of people intent on occupying their possessions once the last one of them dies, this set of octogenarians live on peacefully in Cochin. It also tells the story of the strife and discrimination within the Jewish community itself, between Whites and Blacks. It ends with a survey on the lives of people who had taken domicile in Israel and how they feel now, after a few decades in the land where milk and honey flow. Edna Fernandes is a British writer who was born in Nairobi and grew up in London. A former foreign correspondent for the Financial Times and political correspondent for Reuters in London, her articles have been reproduced in newspapers around the world.

There were many streams of Jewish immigration to Kerala. Trade relations existed between Malabar coast and ancient Palestine under king Solomon. Descendants of such traders lived in Kerala for a long time. Their habitat was Cranganore (present-day Kodungallur) on the western coast in medieval times. Cranganore’s provenance as a major port suffered a devastating blow in 1341, when the great monsoon floods silted up the harbour and the course of the Periyar river altered to the south. Cochin (present-day Kochi) shot up in reputation as a natural harbour after this event. The Jews migrated south to Kochi, Chennamangalam and Parur. The community reveres an ancient patriarch named Joseph Rabban, who is considered the founding father of the community in Kerala. The book claims that Rabban was acknowledged to be the king of Anjuvannam village according to a copper plate granted by king Bhaskara Ravi Varma, now stored in the Mattanchery Synagogue. This is alluded to be the Jewish kingdom of Shingly. However, Anjuvannam is a trade guild as can be seen from other historical texts catering to this period and its leadership implies only that the Jewish patriarch was a merchant leader. A great exodus from Palestine took place after 70 CE, when the second temple at Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman troops as a consequence of crushing a Jewish uprising. The author claims that a section of the Jews migrated also during the destruction of the first temple in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar.

One of man’s basic instincts seems to discriminate among his brethren. How can such an unhealthy custom develop otherwise among the Jews of Kerala, who differentiated into two groups: the white-skinned ones called Paradesi (foreigner) and the blacks being called Malabari (Keralites). Such discrimination was against the basic tenets of Judaism, scrupulous though the Whites were, in observing rituals ordained by custom. Another outrageous fact was that the Whites arrived in Cochin only in the 16^th century CE to escape the persecution in Europe ordained by the Inquisition. These were fair skinned – being Europeans – and usurped the legacy of their native born co-religionists whose skin colour and physique was exactly matching with other Keralites, since the community was living in Kerala for three millennia, and they mingled with the indigenous population. White Jews claimed the legacy of Joseph Rabban, and their clever ploys could hoodwink the Raja of Cochin and imperial administration by making false claims that the blacks were the descendants of slaves attached to merchant vessels which plied in the Arabian sea. They set in motion a form of apartheid that put the South African variety to shame. And this was when the Jewish community was widely persecuted everywhere! Intermarriage between the two communities was strictly prohibited. The Black Jews were not even allowed to pray in the main hall of the Mattanchery Synagogue, which was under the Whites’ effective control. While the Paradesis sat on benches, the Malabaris were relegated to an anteroom, where they were allowed to sit on the floor and pray! Rebellion flared up among the oppressed, under the leadership of Abraham Barak Salem, also called ‘Jewish Gandhi’ as he was a lawyer and worked in the Congress party, having close ties with Gandhi and Nehru, which prompted him to adopt non-violent passive resistance to bring about the downfall of apartheid by one Jewish community against another. When Israel was formed in 1948, it allowed brotherhood of Jews of all races, without insisting on skin tone as a qualifying parameter. This definitely ended the practice of segregation even though Fernandes narrates the story of a couple who married across the communities and had to face ostracism from their white neighbours. Kerala Jews had adopted many of the customs prevalent in their adopted homeland like wearing dhotis, use of Malayalam language, Kerala cuisine and even the use of tali, a piece of gold locket tied by the groom around his bride’s neck as a marriage ritual. The author hints that along with all these, the communities might have imbibed the spirit of untouchability which was all pervading in Hinduism, where people with pale complexion were regarded as upper-castes having superior privileges.

The book depends heavily on other books on Kerala Jewry in its narrative. True to the vocation of the author, it demonstrates narration skills inalienable to a journalist, rather than displaying profound analytical insight of a thinker. Even though an Indian, the author exhibits typical characteristics of foreign authors when describing the Indian countryside and society. Surprisingly for the readers stationed in Kerala, the author’s development of scenic background of events is not honest enough. It is as if she had prepared the description beforehand. The book describes the unloading of cargo from the backs of mules in Ernakulam market (pitiful mules bent low beneath their parcels like put-upon husbands, p.72). Considering the fact that Fernandes’ visit to the city was in 2006, this account is simply a lie, and incorporated to satisfy somebody’s mental picture of how an Indian city should look like, even in the 21^st century. Draught animals are not being used in Ernakulam for nearly five decades now. Similar is the case of the sentry at Mattanchery police station near the synagogue, who is said to be dozing off at 11 am on most days. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows that the station is a rather busy one, and there is no question of an officer sleeping in daytime in broad public view. This is another case of stereo typifying Indian ideas. The entire narrative in the book is worn out, without rising to the level of evoking feelings in readers’ minds. The custodians of the synagogue even deny permission to her to make an interview! Anyway, her visit to Israel to meet the Cochin Jews migrated there, is the only saving grace of the work. Nevatim settlement is the biggest cluster of Kerala Jews, but many are stationed in Jerusalem also. The author successfully elicits emotions of both kinds in the immigrants. All of them moved to the Jewish homeland sharing a lofty, though partisan ideal of setting up a theocratic state there. Subtle discrimination on the basis of skin colour is prevalent there too, but Kerala’s Jews know how to manage it effectively. Many of them are however disillusioned with the model of a secular society, whereas almost all of the Cochin Jews were very devoted to their faith. Added to that is the security concerns associated with everyday life in Israel. The Jews were never discriminated against in Kerala, even though we read about a few occasions in which they were the aggressors. A part of the emigrants wants to come back to India, and their experience on reaching Indian soil is touching – “Even though it’s my holy land, I was happy to be coming home. You know that smell when you step off the plane in India? That dirty diesel smell! I can’t tell you how happy I was to breathe my country into my lungs. I’m Jewish, but I’m also Indian” (p.90).

The book is recommended.

Rating: 2 Star

The Loss of El Dorado

Title: The Loss of El Dorado – A Colonial History

Author: V S Naipaul

Publisher: Picador, 2010 (First published 1973)

ISBN: 9780330522847

Pages: 376

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul is a Nobel Prize-winning author of Indian origin, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago. He is basically a novelist who has published more than thirty books of fiction as well as non-fiction in the genre of autobiography and history. Medieval Europeans believed in the existence of a city constructed of gold somewhere in South America. Fevered quests for locating the city obviously failed, resulting in considerable loss of life. As a corollary to the pursuit, Spanish conquistadores established many colonies scattered over the area. The British and the French soon intervened, with disastrous results for the Spanish. This historical narrative describes two distinctive phases in the development of Trinidad as a British colony – the wiping off of Indians from the island and two centuries later, of establishing a slave colony. As slavery was abolished in the 19^th century, plantations died down. Indentured labour from the Gangetic plains emigrated to the Caribbean to tide over the shortage of labour as a result of manumission. The author himself is a descendant of them.

The dismal plight of the Black slaves who toiled in Trinidad is distressing to modern minds accustomed to social justice and racial equality. They were grabbed from Africa by slave traders and sold to the Caribbean islanders to provide much needed manpower to get its plantations going. Many died due to diseases and overwork, and then unceremoniously disposed off. Naipaul uses the term ‘Negro’ throughout the book to heighten the sense of affront against the despised practice of slavery. They were bought and sold like commodity and the government even taxed the transactions. Immigrants in Trinidad who came with their own slaves would pay no taxes on their Negroes for ten years, and they could import slaves duty-free for ten years. If the money was used to buy Negroes, goods could be taken out of the island and sold subject only to a five per cent tax, whereas trade with foreign nationals were banned in all other cases (p.113). Severe restrictions were imposed on the slaves’ social life after working hours. Negroes from one plantation was not allowed to mix with Negroes from others. Their diversions were to end before prayers. Marriage was to be encouraged between slaves to increase the number of them. The owner of the husband was to have the option of buying the wife at a fair valuation, or he was to sell the husband to the owner of the wife (p.115). The white masters literally ensured conditions ripe for the ‘breeding’ of Negro populations. A woman who had more than three children and kept them healthy was to be given a dollar a year per child; a woman who had seven would be spared all field labour (p.167). The native Indians were free, but their numbers quickly diminished due to diseases, extermination in large numbers and conversion to Christianity. Trinidad’s Indian population of 40,000 dwindled in a century to a tenth of that number, at 4000.

Though authored by a Nobel laureate, the book is unimpressive to general readers from other parts of the world. Naipaul recounts the history of his native island, which is much relevant only to its society. Perhaps this indifference of other societies in what is going on in the Caribbean and Americas might have been one of the reasons why slavery persisted there for more than it prevailed elsewhere. But anyway, the highly localized narrative of a small colonial island is, unfortunately rather dull. What rescues the readers from boredom is the lucid and artful depiction of the events, suffused thoroughly with dry humour.

We are presented with a ringside view of the rapid changes in colonial equations as far as Trinidad was concerned. The island was first colonized by the Spanish, but adventurers like Walter Raleigh conquered it on behalf of Britain. This ended up in a curious situation, in which the island was administered by British governors under Spanish law, even though people of French, English and other nationalities also inhabited the island. When a case went in appeal to England, its judges were expected to pass verdict based on Spanish law, which they didn’t know. People with an enlightened mind who came to Trinidad with the firm resolve to end slavery, were also forced to put up with the practice on account of prudence. There are a few people who still argue that the condition of the free working class was in fact worse than slaves immediately after slavery was did away with. Their point is basically an economic one, that is, harming a slave physically was not in the interest of the master, because his capacity for work is diminished. But human nature, particularly in its vindictive genre, is unpredictable as can be seen in many places in the book in which owners maltreat their slaves in a fit of anger which may even result in death or mutilation, like cutting off ears.

The book is not recommended.

Rating: 2 Star

A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples

Title: A Complete Guide to Hoysala Temples

Author: Gerard Foekema

Publisher: Abhinav Publications, 1996 (First)

ISBN: 9788170173458

Pages: 152

This book is not about history, but all for tourists having a genuine bend to appreciation of temple architecture. Karnataka is undisputedly the best specimen to sample magnificent temples of the early and medieval periods. We have cave temples at Badami when construction of religious places just took hold in the South. The superbly ornate Chalukya constructions at Pattadakal and Aihole blending Dravida and Nagara styles present the next spurt, Hoysala temples around Hassan and Mysore showcase the next phase, culminating in Vijayanagara architecture at Hampi. The Gangas and Kadambas are, of course, not to be left out of this list. This is ample justification for Karnataka to be the envy of every state in India. The geography is fascinatingly variable and delightful. It was on a train journey from Bengaluru to Harihar eight years ago that I fell in love with Karnataka. This book is a must-have for one who intends to visit Hoysala temples in and around Hassan, among which Belur and Halebid are the most famous.

Gerard Foekema is a Dutch writer of art-history who first visited India in 1976, purely as a tourist and fell in love with old Indian architecture, both Hindu and Muslim. His first trip for study purposes was made in 1979, and since then he has returned to India every two to three years. He has produced two more works on the same subject, titled Architecture Decorated with Architecture: Later Medieval Temples of Karnataka, 1000 – 1300 AD and Chalukya Architecture: Medieval Temples of Northern Karnataka Built During the Rule of the Chalukya of Kalyana and Thereafter, AD 1000 – 1300. I just had a mild heart attack while searching the price of the latter, at a whopping Rs. 21,000 in online stores.

This book begins with a brief history of the Hoysalas. But it is a little too brief, at just 4 pages! The entire kingdom hardly lasted two centuries from 1100 to 1300 AD, so a full list of the kings could have been given, in order to familiarize the reader with their names at least. An introduction to the dedication of the temples to particular deities is given and a primer on how to identify the god-figures in sculpture. People who are not familiar with Hindu mythology would find this extremely useful. Foekema presents the general plan of Hoysala temples, describing the parts of it, which is surprisingly simple with the help of nice illustrations. However, the chapter on sculpture, in which the author describes the sculptural details of the temples, would have been more helpful if a few diagrams were available along with the text.

What is really appealing to the tourist is the latter half of the book, narrating the styles of temples at the most famous sites beginning with Amritapura and ending with Somanathapur, including those at Belur, Halebid, Nuggehalli and Belavadi. Even though 15 sites are described, some of the equally glorious sites are omitted, like Kondajji and Anekere. This is not at all a serious issue, but being a complete guide, a few more sites would have been in order. The structural plan of each temple is presented along with the description. An impressive collection of 48 monochrome plates are attached at the end of the book, in sequential order in which they are described. The glossary is small, but comprehensive for this small title. Bibliography is included more as a mandatory component for a book of this sort, rather than for being useful to readers. The sites are also clearly illustrated in an accompanying map. A good index is helpful for locating the sites speedily as this book is likely to be taken by hand while visiting the places of architectural grandeur.

The hard back version is not so rugged for outdoor duty but gentle use is just about okay. More than anything else, it presents glimpses from an era when the religious fights between Saivites and Vaishnava worshipers ebbed and a cultural syncretism was visible in the intermingling of shrines of both persuasions. Not only is there an almost one to one correspondence in the number of temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu, but many of them are housed in the same complex, attesting to the high level of tolerance that light up Hoysala rule over the dark intervening centuries that separate us from them.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star

India Grows at Night

Title: India Grows at Night – A Liberal Case for a Strong State

Author: Gurcharan Das

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2012 (First)

ISBN: 9780670084708

Pages: 307

‘India Unbound’ was a phenomenal book translated into all Indian languages which told the story of how the economic giant, asleep in a body controlled by fetters of excessive state control was at last unbound and found immense success in the world of trade and commerce. Gurcharan Das, a former CEO of Procter & Gamble India, and now fully dedicated to writing, told the story in a sad, yet moving way. ‘India Grows at Night’ may be considered as a sequel to the first one, in which the author identifies the loss of steam and determination to move forward with reforms. The title of the book is a euphemism for India’s economy which is said to grow at night – when the government is asleep! If the second round of advance is not forthcoming, India may be caught up in a ‘middle income trap’ as observed in some of the Latin American countries like Brazil. It was a great achievement to get rid of the license-quota-permit raj, as the author had himself met officials in his career who didn’t understand a thing of his business, yet had the power to ruin it. But there are unreformed sectors yet, in which crony capitalism is still at large. Das proposes a package to carry forward the reforms which will inculcate the concept of the modern state which the architects of our constitution had in mind. A liberal, but strong state is the need of the hour, with an unbending rule of law that severely penalizes graft. This is a must-read for India’s young generation and an eye-opener for bureaucrats and politicians.

India always had a weak state, which ruled over a strong society. The populace regulated their daily lives according to swadharma (the code of ethics applicable to one’s own community), from which even the king was not potent enough to dissuade them. The ruler’s power was not absolute, as he also was expected not to waiver from the branch of dharma applicable to him. India’s society is inherently heterogenic. It admitted all groups of people who came here – either as merchants or invaders – into the multilayered fold of its castes, until the arrival of those guided by strict monotheism. This paradigm of a weak state and strong society is antithetical to the case of China, where they traditionally had a strong state and a weak society. Chinese emperors were sons of god and their empire was celestial. Groups of people were assimilated into the great melting pot of Chinese culture in which all traces of their previous existence was obliterated. The strength of civil society is one reason why the state is powerless to impose rules or laws that are unpopular. Seeing the working of the Indian government in Nehru’s time, noted economist Gunnar Myrdal had remarked it as a soft state, which is still applicable. The strong, liberal states rest on three pillars: first, the power to act independently and resolutely; second, a rule of law which constrains political power and limits corruption; and third, democracy and accountability which allow the people to change their rulers when they start to behave badly.

India obtained political independence in 1947. But to obtain economic independence from the clutches of greedy, self-serving bureaucrats and politicians, we had to wait till 1991 when the economy was unshackled at last. The country’s growth rate was a dismal 0.8% during the British years 1900 – 1947. So much for arguments of benevolence under the colonial administration! The rate increased to 3.5% in the four decades after independence leading to 1991. We derisively call it the Hindu rate of growth, which is a misnomer. The growth rate was pinned down because of the unwarranted state control at the commanding heights of the economy. When the license-quota-permit raj was finally scrapped, the growth jumped to 6-9%, until 2010. Das provides glowing tributes to economic liberalization that changed the face of the land.

The author presents a litany of measures to escape from the pathetic lot into which India is entrapped. Some are the results of genuine introspection done by him, like reform of the institutions of governance, radical devolution of powers to the States at first and then to local self-government bodies, ushering in second generation of economic reforms and strict and speedy delivery of punishment (danda niti) to the corrupt. But his suggested remedy out of this sorry state of affairs is pure wishful thinking. Having lost faith in all political parties now in the national and regional platforms, Das suggests setting up a liberal, secularist party on the lines of the erstwhile Swatantra Party of Rajaji by the Middle Class, which will number almost half of the population of the country by 2020. This book was written before the inception of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Admi Party, which was set up on similar lines of thought. However, as soon as the party came to power in Delhi, it also fell into the trap of offering free giveaways to the affluent using public money. He also mentions an anecdote in which a very effective World Bank project to ensure continuous water supply to the inhabitants of Delhi was scuttled by the NGO, Parivartan, established by Kejriwal and his cronies.

Even though the book is written in a simple, yet elegant style, frequent breaking of the thread of continuity is somewhat irritating. Presenting an idea or person, Gurcharan Das suddenly drops it midway with an offhand remark that he will continue the discussion in another chapter or at the end of the present one. The book makes bold assertions like the Indian state was traditionally weak, but the society was strong. However, I couldn’t help thinking that this postulate is based on a selective and simplistic reading of Indian history, not at all supported by solid fact or rational judgment. The Middle Class identified by the book as holding the potential to change the destiny of the country through sheer numbers, is living in metros and drinking latte and cappuccino! This class has no roots on the countryside in fact, and the author expects that the rural middle class also will transform in due course into the chimera of the metro cities which he admires. The book is to some extent, hastily concluded, but sports a good index and a comprehensive bibliography.

The book is highly recommended.

Rating: 3 Star