Epilogue: Indian Jewish communities between past and future / Ora Z. Soltes. Jewish migrations to the Far East / Ericao Lyons -- Indian Jews as a diverse diaspora / Ori Z. Soltes -- The Bene Israel and their customs and structures / Ori Z. Soltes -- The Kerala synagogues: heritage of the Cochin Jews / Orna Eliyau-Oron and Barbara C. Johnson -- Therein lies a tale: the synagogues of the Baghdadi Jews of Calcutta / Jael Silliman -- How I gradually turned blue and other stories I remember growing up Jewish in India / Siona Benjamin -- Refocus and return: Siona Benjamin's multi-layered art -- Epilogue: Indian Jewish communities between past and future / Ora Z. Soltes.
Summary:
Growing Up Jewish in India' offers an historical account of the primary Jewish communities of India, their synagogues, and unique Indian Jewish customs. It offers an investigation both within Jewish India and beyond its borders, tracing how Jews arrived in the vast subcontinent at different times from different places and have both inhabited dispersed locations within the larger Indian world, and ultimately created their own diaspora within the larger Jewish diaspora by relocating to other countries, particularly Israel and the United States. The text and its rich complement of over 150 images explore how Indian Jews retained their unique characteristics as Jews, became well-integrated into the larger society of India as Indians, and have continued to offer a synthesis of cultural qualities wherever they reside. Among the outcomes of these developments is the unique art of Siona Benjamin, who grew up in the Bene Israel community of Mumbai and then moved to the US, and whose art reflects Indian and Jewish influences as well as concepts like Tikkun olam (Hebrew for "repairing the world"). In combining discussions of the Indian Jewish communities with Benjamin's own story and an analysis of her artistic output - and in introducing these narratives within the larger story of Jews across eastern Asia - this volume offers a unique verbal and visual portrait of a significant slice of Indian and Jewish culture and tradition. It would be of interest to Jews and non-Jews, Indian and non-Indian alike, as well as to history enthusiasts and the general reader interested in art and culture.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.