Siona Benjamin is an Indian Jewish artist who incorporates elements of illuminated manuscripts, Indian and Persian miniature painting, Byzantine icons, Indian comics, Bollywood, and pop art into her work. Her bright paintings—usually in gouache—embody all of these influences, as she was raised in Mumbai’s Bene Israel community, educated in Catholic and Zoroastrian schools, and now…
These two works provide richly illustrated descriptions of the varied and fascinating history of India’s extremely small Jewish populations. Both merely give a cursory mention to the two groups with the longest histories, the Bnei Israel and the Jews of Cochin. Kenneth X. Robbins and Marvin Tokayer’s book Western Jews in India focuses on the…
For her latest book, ‘Bene Appétit: The Cuisine of the Indian Jews,’ author Esther David travels across India, engaging with Jewish communities to learn how to cook traditional, highly guarded dishes. “Zoo life was quite international. I had Gujarati pals when I was little. And coming to terms with the fact that I am Jewish….
Title: Kerala and Her Jews Description: This short history is compiled from a paper read by Mr. S. S. Koder before the Kerala History Association in 1965, his article in the Souvenir printed on the occasion of the inauguration of the Nehru Memorial Town Hall, Mattancherri in 1968 and Miss Fiona Hallegua’s thesis “The Jewish…
Title: The Jews of India Author: Dalia Ray Published: 2016 Country Published: India Publisher: Renaissance Publishers Pvt Ltd ISBN-10: 8193230906 ISBN-13: 978-8193230909 Description: The Jews of India, a microscopic marginal community among other communities settled in India, have become an important part of the Indian history. The Jews, who first landed in the port cities of India…
Title: Baghdadian Jews of Bombay: Their Life and Achievements: A Personal and Historical Account Author: Rachel Manasseh Published: 2013 Country Published: United States of America Publisher: Midrash Ben Ish Hai ISBN-10: 0984182837 ISBN-13: 978-0984182831 Description: Baghdadian Jews of Bombay is an exciting narrative of the two hundred year sojourn of the Baghdadian Jewish community in the…
Title: Spiritual Journey Home: Eastern Mysticism to the Western Wall Author: Nathan Katz Published: February 1, 2009 Country Published: United States of America Publisher: KTAV Publishing House ISBN-10: 1602801169 ISBN-13: 978-1602801165 Description: Spiritual Journey Home is a unique memoir by Professor Nathan Katz, of Florida International University, portraying his intense lifelong spiritual odyssey in search…
Title: Land of the Seven Rivers: A Brief History of India’s Geography Author: Sanjeev Sanyal Published: December 18, 2013 Country Published: United States of America Publisher: Penguin Books USA ISBN-10: 0143420933 ISBN-13: 978-0143420934 Description: Did ancient India witness the Great Flood? Why did the Buddha give his first sermon at Sarnath? How did the Europeans…
Title: Writing Indians and Jews: Metaphorics of Jewishness in South Asian Literature Author: A. Guttman Published: June 14, 2013 Country Published: United Kingdom Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan ISBN-10: 1137339675 ISBN-13: 978-1137339676 Description: “Guttman’s book makes an important contribution to the field of Jewish studies by offering a lucid and erudite assessment of the tropes of Jewishness…
Title: The Unconverted Self: Jews, Indians, and the Identity of Christian Europe Author: Jonathan Boyarin Published: December 28, 2012 Country Published: United States of America Publisher: ReadHowYouWant ISBN-10: 1459605527 ISBN-13: 978-1459605527 Description: Europe’s formative encounter with its ”others” is still widely assumed to have come with its discovery of the peoples of the New World….