The Jewish Community in Kerala today.....

Today Jew Town, in the Mattancherry section and a short walk from the ferry, is one street long. Jews used to occupy virtually all the houses on Jew Town Road, where they sold fruits, vegetables and spices or worked as oil pressers or carpenters. The spice markets are still located on the narrow street, but most of the homes and businesses belong to non-Jews. Out of seven synagogues that once graced this street, only the Paradesi is still open.

Entering Jew Town Road where it intersects with Jew Cemetery Road is like entering another world. Merchants call out from open-air shops, men squat in doorways or congregate in the middle of the street to smoke their pipes and gossip, friendly and curious children follow visitors, chattering endlessly, and three wheeled motorized taxis and bicycles thread their way through the scene.

....Jew Street in Cochin on a Sunday afternoon

Anchoring one end of Jew Town, at the end of Jew Cemetery Road, is the Jewish burial place, with stone sepulchers aboveground and inscriptions in Hebrew and Malayalam. From there, a walk through several blocks will bring you to the Magen David decorated, wrought-iron gates of the Paradesi synagogue. Along the way one can identify buildings that once housed synagogues and prayer halls-as well as Jewish homes and storefronts-by the still-visible stars and Hebrew inscriptions and decorations.

At the community's peak in the 1940's there were approximately 2,500 Jews in the state of Kerala-in Ernakulum, Parur, Chennamangalam and Mala, all near Cochin City-and 300 in Jew Town. Today, few of the country's remaining Jews live in Cochin - 22, to be exact and many predict that the predominantly elderly community will be gone within 25 years. When India established its independence in 1947, the combination of uncertainty and the Zionist vision prompted most of Cochin's Jews to leave. Many worried the country would become socialist. Those who stayed behind were the wealthiest; they did not want to risk losing their fortunes in the move and are today left with the burden of sustaining the community.

The Cochin Jews were historically divided into two major communities -the so- called Black Jews, or Malabaris (85 percent of Cochinis), who regard themselves as the descendants of the original settlers, and the White Jews, or Paradesim (14 percent), descendants of immigrants from various Middle East and European countries. There are also a few Brown Jews, or Meshuhurarum, who are descended from emancipated slaves. They became spice merchants, business owners and professionals and spoke the local language Malayalam as well as English. The community has never had a rabbi of its own and was rarely visited by one. Any synagogue elder is eligible to lead prayers, and the men take turns.

The Synagogue in Cochin

The Jews have adopted and modified many of their host country's customs. Colorful oil lamps hang from synagogue ceilings in keeping with Hindu tradition; all synagogues are entered barefoot and hardala flowers are sniffed and then tucked into a pocket, signifying Shabbat's end.

Although Jews, like Christians, are outside India's caste system, they developed a strict code of their own, which for centuries dictated that the three communities and their subgroups could not live together, socialize or intermarry. The divisions between Jews began to break down after 1948, when large scale emigration forced everyone together. The majority of Jewish marriages are still arranged; married couples and their children live with the husband's parents. Jewish women now wear bindis, the small marks in the middle of their foreheads that at one time signified a woman's marital status but are now merely a fashion statement.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the Indian Jewish experience is the complete absence of discrimination by a host majority. The secret of India's tolerance is the Hindu belief which confers legitimacy on a wide diversity of cultural and religious groups even as it forbids movement from one group to another.