The president’s update for March has to be rather thin as Fay and I spent 3 weeks in February in hot and colourful India, spending time with our son, Charlie, in manic Delhi, Rajastan and peaceful Kerala in the south. We managed to visit 2 synagogues in Kerala- one still just hanging on for infrequent use and the other looked after as a heritage monument. We were told that almost all the remaining Jewish population had left for Israel soon after 1948. But they claim trade with King Soloman’s 9th C BCE kingdom, the settlement of Jews in 72 CE, a Jewish leader being made a local prince in the 4th C CE and eventual eviction by the Moors in the 16th C. So a longer history even than us in Norwich!
What was striking in Kerala was the large number of Christian churches all around, many of them gleaming white and recently built with American funding. And the number of huge new houses built into the rubber plantation hillsides- all funded from younger Indians earning a relative fortune in the Gulf States and Middle East and often just occupied by elderly parents and other family members.
All rather different from Delhi and Rajastan where Hindu, Sikh and Jain temples were everywhere, and blessed street cows and sleeping dogs seemed at times to run the show. Intrigued one day to see proud owners of new motorbikes and tuk-tuks bringing then for the routine priestly blessing (for any new purchase or venture) before running the gauntlet of the mad, bad traffic. We also stumbled on a big temple festival marking the anniversary of the death of a founding priest – elephants in full ceremonial gear and a temple “orchestra”- all bells, bangs and earsplitting trumpets. Our guide pointed out that the whole festival was very expensive for the community – elephants cost £1000 a day each to hire with more elephants arriving each day for the full 7 days.
All graphic illustrations of how religion is so intimately woven into their daily lives, and what community commitment can achieve. And wonderful for passing western tourists to chance upon!
Back to the UK, where we gather it’s been cold and miserable…..but at least the Shul heating has been working. Wishing everyone Chag sameach l’pesach