Steel Notes Magazine www . steelnotesmagazine . com
Steel Notes Magazine
December 2016
America , at a time when I personally encountered prejudice and hatred , I have always been fascinated to find Jews in other , often strange parts of the world . Hence , when I heard about Jew Town in Kerala I had to go and have a look .
Jews first arrived in Kerala the after the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE , and over time the area became home to a rather large and diverse Jewish community . They spoke a dialect called Judeo-Malayalam , Malayalam being the native tongue of Kerala . Another group of Jews emigrated from European countries such as Holland and Spain in the 18th Century , bringing the Ladino language and Sephardic customs .
Most of the Jews have left , mainly for Israel , but Jew Town , as it is called , remains . The only remaining synagogue that is still an active house of prayer is the beautiful Paradesi Synagogue .
Built on land given by Rama Varma , the Raja of Kochi , in 1567 , it contains many beautiful antiques including a floor of individually unique handmade blue and white willow-patterned porcelain Chinese tiles . There is also a rug , which was a gift from Haile Selassie , Emperor of Ethiopia .
India might be the only country in the world that has not only welcomed Jews for thousands of years , but also where they have never been subjected to anti-Semitism from their fellow Indians .
From Cochin I made my way down to Trivandrum and further down to the Kovalam Beach . Located at the very bottom of India , the beach is beautiful . I got a room in a little hotel on the beach for about a dollar .
Back then Trivandrum was slow and easy ; I spent time on the beach and enjoyed South Indian meals with masala dosa , sambhar and coconut chutney , other curries , accompaniments and rice served on a banana leaf .
Walking down the beach one evening I was approached by a young man who asked if I wanted a lobster dinner . He showed me the shellfish , which I think were actually a type of crayfish , and we agreed on a price , five rupees , which was about 60 cents .
I sat on the beach while he built a fire , boiled the lobster , made rice and other accompaniments . He then laid out a cloth on the beach , some dishes , and served me . It was delicious .
Not long after I had arrived in Cochin I started to get sick . In Trivandrum my ear started hurting . It kept getting worse , and in Kovalam I developed a high fever , the whole side of my face swelled up and my ear and jaw hurt really bad . I went to see a doctor . He said I had a bad ear infection that could become meningitis . He gave me an injection with a really long needle that hurt quite a bit . When I asked him what that was for , he smiled , shook his head in that distinct Indian way , and said , “ It is for pain .”
“ Well , it worked ,” I smiled back , rubbing my arm . He also gave me some antibiotics and told me to keep the ear dry for six months . I thanked him and left as a rat scampered out of the corner of the waiting room .
My next stop was Goa .
Goa was different from the rest of India . It was a Portuguese colony until 1961 , and the Catholic influence , including conversion , had an effect on Goa quite different from the Church of England ’ s more benign presence in
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