Baghdadi Jewish Group of Kolkata, India

Kolkata, previously often known as Calcutta, is a metropolis layered in historical past. There are colonial palaces subsequent to avenue markets, and winding lanes that take you thru the centuries on a stroll. Among the many many communities that helped form its identification is the Baghdadi Jewish diaspora, a small however influential group that arrived from the Center East within the late 18th century, drawn by the promise of acceptance.

“We weren’t tolerated in India, we weren’t accepted in India, however we had been embraced by India,” says Jael Silliman, a author, educator, and lifelong Calcutta resident whose household got here from Aleppo and Iraq, within the episode. “Jews rose to each stage of society. No matter they sought to do, they might do this.”

Jewish merchants made their means east from the Center East, following industrial routes to Calcutta, which was simply rising as a hub for British colonial commerce, although, as Sillman says, “India has at all times been a spot the place Jews got here. We have been right here for the reason that time of King Solomon, from the time of the Bible.” They introduced with them Hebrew prayer, Arabic meals, and Judeo-Arabic dialects. “Loads of Baghdadi Jews began to return to Calcutta due to the commerce alternatives,” journalist and tour chief Rahel Musleah shares within the episode. “And the truth that there was no anti-Semitism in India, which is a really, very massive deal.”

Right here, they thrived, constructing companies, faculties, and synagogues, a few of which nonetheless stand immediately, together with the grand Magen David Synagogue, a shocking constructing with Italian marble flooring, stained glass, and a placing steeple identified by locals because the lal girja, or “pink church.” 

By the early twentieth century, the Baghdadi Jewish inhabitants had peaked at almost 5,000. Nevertheless, even with a stable diaspora in place, a lot of their legacy stays hidden in plain sight. You may nonetheless discover items of the tradition in locations like Nahoum & Sons bakery, based by a Baghdadi Jewish household, which sells Christmas desserts to traces of consumers that embrace Hindus, Muslims, and Christians alike. “Solely in Calcutta, do you might have Muslims baking Christmas desserts the place there are traces of Hindus lining as much as purchase them,” Silliman says.

Nevertheless, this deep interfaith connection wasn’t incidental. “We at all times had Muslim cooks in our residence as a result of we knew that they’d by no means convey ham, pork, or bacon,” Silliman says. “The caretakers of our synagogue immediately are nonetheless Muslim.”

By the Nineteen Sixties, nevertheless, world migration and altering financial circumstances noticed many Jewish households depart Calcutta for London, New York, or Israel. At this time, fewer than 30 stay. However efforts to protect the group’s legacy are ongoing, together with Silliman’s personal in depth digital archive and Musleah’s guided heritage excursions by means of her group, Discover Jewish India. “We’re carrying on our traditions wherever we’re,” Musleah shares. “Whether or not we dwell within the locations the place we had been born, we nonetheless have the duty to hold on the place we got here from.”

The group might have grown smaller, however its legacy stays monumental. Study extra concerning the Baghdadi Jews in Kolkata on this week’s episode of Misplaced Cultures: Dwelling Legacies to unravel all of it. It is out there now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Participant FM, or wherever you get your podcasts.