'The last Jews of Kerala' successfully captures the melancholy, despair and fear that envelops the last less than a score of Jews left in Kerala - the living remnants of around two millennia old Jewish settlement in Cochin.
Edna Fernandes walks the lanes of Jew Town , Cochin ,to capture the sad story of the two Jewish communities- the blank and the white- their histories, the fatal colour based caste discrimination and rise and fall of this once glorious community.She also goes to Jerusalem to study the life of the re-settled Cochini Jews of the now Israel to learn that while few of them successfully resettled in 'The Promised land' , others yearn for the peaceful and glamorous life that they left in Kerala.
It was not plague or war that led to the destruction of this community in Kerala but bitter feud and apartheid between the black and the whites.
A touching investigative account of a dying community in 'countdown mode' that has no more marriages but only funerals to attend ...
Edna Fernandes walks the lanes of Jew Town , Cochin ,to capture the sad story of the two Jewish communities- the blank and the white- their histories, the fatal colour based caste discrimination and rise and fall of this once glorious community.She also goes to Jerusalem to study the life of the re-settled Cochini Jews of the now Israel to learn that while few of them successfully resettled in 'The Promised land' , others yearn for the peaceful and glamorous life that they left in Kerala.
It was not plague or war that led to the destruction of this community in Kerala but bitter feud and apartheid between the black and the whites.
A touching investigative account of a dying community in 'countdown mode' that has no more marriages but only funerals to attend ...
2 comments:
You have got it all wrong, Pencil.
This book by Edna Fernandes has been panned by every critic and reader. It is riddled with errors, beginning with her premise about 'apartheid'. The Cochini Jewish tree is flourishing in Isreal with about 9000 proud Cochinis - who love India and Israel as well. Many have settled in the Western countries as well - like the Hindus and Christians it was just plain economics - not 'apartheid' that took them away from Kerala.
Edna has got the name of synagogues wrong, she has not mentioned anything about Cochin mystics, their poetry, their literature, she has even erred in saying that the Maharaja of Cochin presented a golden crown to the Pardesi synagogue. It was the Travancore Maharaja.
And she is very wrong is calling Gamliel Salem as a Black Jew throughout the book. Gamliel and his ancestors have always been members of the Pardesi community.
Edna wrote and got this book published in a hurry! It is a shame!
And she doesn't even mention scholars like J.B. Segal, Prof. Jussay, Prof. Elamkulam etc. who have done pioneering studies on the Cochinis.
Hi Bala,
I got a copy of the book and enjoyed reading it - the language and feeling of fear and melancholy in the book. Let me admit that I am not learned enough on the subject in the book to view it with a critic's eye neither could I identify the flaws in the historic accuracy. I'm sorry for that.
Regards,
Pencil.
P.s: Keep visiting this page. I enjoy critical comments..:)
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