Jews of Calcutta

  • The Baghdadis came to India during the British Raj and settled in Bombay, Calcutta and other port cities in Asia. The Jews of Cochin and Mumbai were the first inhabitants of this community in India. They gathered wealth as agriculturalists, soldiers and merchants. As per records, Shalon ben Aharon ben Obadiah Ha-Cohen arrived to Calcutta from Aleppo in Syria on 4th August 1798 via Bombay and Surat. He settled near Portuguese and Armenian dwellers at Murgighata in Barabazar. His nephew Moses Simon Duek Ha-Cohen, a renowned businessman, played a pivotal role in drafting the constitution of the community.
  • In the 1800s there were 300 Jews in Kolkata of which 30 remain today. 
  • Three synagogues, two prayer halls, and a cemetery at Narkeldanga remain, along with a few stately mansions and street names. Jewish Girls and Jewish Boys School (Barrackpore) are prominent even today. 
  • Street names associated with famous Jewish persons include Ezra Street in Burra Bazaar (after Sir David Ezra), Bellilios Road and Bellilios Park in Howrah (after Emanuel Raphael Belilios). 
  • The iconic buildings such as Esplanade Mansions, Chowringhee Mansions, Bamboo Villa, Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, Norton Building, Gubbay and Ezra Houses in the Kolkata Zoo, and the Ezra Building in the Calcutta Medical College. 
  • Jews were successful jewel merchants and are credited with weighing the Kohinoor diamond. 
  • Other professionals include pioneers in commercial photographers, Hindi film actresses, Miss India (Esther Victoria Abraham), world-class magician (Eddie Jason), sheriffs, teachers, senior police officers, philanthropists, music aficionados and conductors to newspaper editors and a lieutenant general in the Indian army (General Jacob). Regina Guha and Hannah Sen were lawyer and educator respectively who fought for women’s right. 
  • The Neveh Shalome Synagogue, Beth El Synagogue and Maghen David Synagogue preserve the Jewish tradition and practice of Judaism.
  • Jewish cuisine is regulated by a set of dietary laws called kashrut and the permissible food are called kosher. Calcutta Jews eat Hameen on the day of Sabbat. Elaborate delicacies are served on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.
  • Nahoum and Sons is one of the remaining Jewish establishment at Hogg market was set up in 1902 and shifted to its current location in 1916.

https://scroll.in/article/1042259/as-kolkatas-jewish-community-dwindles-one-woman-dreams-of-the-legacy-they-should-leave-behind

https://asiasociety.org/jael-silliman-bringing-indias-jews-light

A taste of time by Mohona Kajilal

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