Books
Bene Appetit
Publisher : HarperCollins
Intrigued by the common thread that binds the Indian Jews as a whole despite their living in different parts of the country, Esther David explores the lifestyle and cuisine of the Jews in every region, from the Bene Israelis of western India to the Bene Menashes of the Northeast, the Bene Ephraims of Andhra Pradesh, the Baghdadi Jews of Kolkata and the Kochi Jews.
Available on : Amazon India
Click to Read an extract
Sefer Rachel – Hebrew edition of Book of Rachel
Publishing House Gamma, Tel Aviv
Editor and Acadmic editor – Dr. Shimon Lev
Translation : Yontan Alon
Link : https://www.gamaisrael.com/
(Owner Dr. Ktzia Alon)
Bombay Brides
BOMBAY BRIDES is a novel by ESTHER DAVID published by HarperCollins publishers in November 2018.
Bombay Brides is about home, heritage, rites, rituals and roots. It offers the delights of Sahitya Akademi Award-winner Esther David’s exquisite light observations on what it means to be last surving members of a diminishing community, accompanied by her marvellous, evocative illustrations.
Book available at :
2. Amazon Link
Ahmedabad – City with a past
ISBN 978-93-5029-797-1
Publisher : HarperCollins Publishers India Ltd.
Ahmedabad – City with a past also an e-book published by HarperCollins Publishers, India. The illustrations in this book are by Esther David
Esther David has been collecting the city-stories of Ahmedabad for many years and has been trying to understand the changing face of the city. The narrative explores Ahmedabad, a city which stands at the intersection between its ancient monuments and modern day high rises and glitzy shopping malls. So, in this book, Esther David weaves a rich tapestry of a fascinating multi-cultural city like Ahmedabad with its myths, legends and stories.
Book available at :
1. Amazon Link
2. uRead
3. Infibeam
The Walled City
ISBN-10: 9380032463
ISBN-13: 978-9380032467
Publisher : Westland Books
Esther David’s perceptive novel traces the lives of three generations of Jewish women living in Ahmedabad. It was published by East West Books, Westland Books, India. Syracuse University Press, New York, USA has re-published The Walled City and included it in the Library of Modern Jewish Literature. The Walled City is translated in French by Sonja Terangle as La Ville en ses Murs for Editions Philippe Picquier, Arles, France.The Walled City was translated in Gujarati as BHINT by Renuka Sheth for Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad. The Walled City was translated in Marathi as TATBANDHI by late Gauri Deshpande and Ambika Sircar by Mouj Prakashan, Mumbai. E-book is published by Westland Books.
Book available at :
1. Syracuse University Press, New York, USA at Library of Modern Jewish Literature, please write to supress@syr.edu
2. French translation of The Walled City titled La ville en ses Murs is available at editions-philippepicquier@harmoniamondi.com
3. Tattabandhi available from moujcad@yahoo.com & Bhint available at info@navbharatonline.com
4. Amazon Link
By The Sabarmati
ISBN-10: 0140278435
ISBN-13: 978-0140278439
Publisher : Penguin India
By the Sabarmati is a collection of twenty two extraordinary stories based on the lives of women, their dreams, aspirations, defeats and victories. The book is translated into Gujarati by Renuka Sheth, as “Sabarmati ne kinare”, published by Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad.
Book available at :
1. Penguin India, write to www.penguinbooksindia.com
2. Sabarmati ne Kinare available at info@navbharatonline.com
3. Amazon Link
Book of Esther
ISBN-10: 0670049093
ISBN-13: 978-0670049097
Publisher : Penguin Viking
This is a historical novel spanning five generations of a Bene Israel Jewish family in western India. It explores Jewish family life in India and is loosely based around the author’s family. Parts of which are based around the Megillat from the Bible. It also revolves around the family’s power to heal and a deep empathy for wild life as the author’s father makes a zoo in Ahmedabad. All these stories are accompanied with the human drama of their personall lives. It is also a chronicle of the unique Jewish community of India.
Book available at :
1. Penguin India, write to www.penguinbooksindia.com
2. Amazon Link
Book of Rachel
ISBN-10: 0670058661
ISBN-13: 978-0670058662
Publisher : Penguin Viking
It is a novel set in Danda, on the picturesque Konkan coast in western India, where Rachel’s story is woven around a Synagogue and also the revival of traditional Bene Israel Jewish food. Esther David weaves a heart-warming tale of a woman’s battle to live life on her own terms. Book of Rachel is translated in French as LE LIVRE DE RACHEL.
Book of Rachel was awarded the national Sahitya Academy Award in 2010 for English Literature, during Rabindranath Tagore’s 150TH birth anniversary. Book of Rachel was translated in French by Sonia Terangle and published by Editions Heloise d’Ormesson, Paris, France.
Book available at :
1. Penguin India, write to www.penguinbooksindia.com
2. French translation of Book of Rachel titled Le Livre de Rachel and Shalom India Housing Society titled Shalom India Residence published by Editions Heloise d’Ormesson, Paris, is available at ho@editions-heloisedormesson.com
3. Amazon Link
My Father’s Zoo
ISBN-108129110776
Publisher : Rupa Publications Pvt. Ltd.
In My Father’s Zoo – Esther David wrote MY FATHER’s ZOO in memory of her zoologist father Reuben David who made the zoo complex and Kamla Nehru Zoological Gardens in Ahmedabad. A book for all ages, it is all about growing up in a zoo.
Book available at :
1. Order book from Rupa & Co. – info@rupabooks.com
2. My Father’s Zoo was translated in Gujarati by Chirantana Bhatt as MARA DADDY NU ZOO by R.R.Sheth & co. Ahmedabad and is available at www.rrsheth.com
3. kgminternational@gmail.com
Shalom India Housing Society
ISBN-10: 818896509X
ISBN-13: 978-8188965090
Publisher : Women Unlimited. India
Set in fictional society in Ahmedabad, this novel weaves together the lives of its residents through a series of events that capture the dilemmas of the last Bene Israel Jews of Ahmedabad. Shalom India Housing Society was re-published by Feminist Press, U.S.A., 2009. Esther David was included in the calendar of Hadassah-Brandeis University U.S.A. 2010-2011, where she was acclaimed as one of twelve best known Jewish women authors of the world.
Shalom India Residence – Translated in French by Marianne Veron and published by Editions Heloise d’ Ormesson, Paris, France. It is known as Version Casher and compared to the French Jewish author Georges Perec’s famous novel – La Vie mode d’emploi. Republished by Femnist Press USA.
Book available at :
1. Please write to Women Unlimited at womenunltd@vsnl.net
2. For Shalom India Housing Society, please write to Managing Editor Feminist Press, USA.
3. Amazon Link
The Man With Enormous Wings
ISBN-10: 0143066927
ISBN-13: 978-0143066927
Publisher : Penguin India
Esther David’s novel deals with the communal riots of Ahmedabad in 2002, as she refers to Mahatma Gandhi as The Man with Enormous Wings as he flies over Ahmedabad to stop the violence.
Book available at :
1. Penguin India, write to www.penguinbooksindia.com
2. Amazon Link
India’s Jewish Heritage
ISBN-10: 8185026580
ISBN-13: 978-8185026589
Publisher : The Marg Foundation
INDIA’S JEWISH HERITAGE, RITUAL, ART and LIFE CYCLE; contributed a chapter on Bene Israel Jewish costumes and edited by Israeli scholar of Jerusalem University; edited by Shalva Weil
Books available at
1. Marg Publication – write to margpub@tata.com
2. Art Book Centre, Ahmedabad
3. Amazon Link
The Jewish Heritage of Gujarat
The Jewish Heritage of Gujarat – Co-authored by Esther David and Anil Mulchandani for U.K. based book published on – Demystifying India, 2012
I AM A SEED OF THE TREE, a book about the last Bene Israel Jews of Gujarat, with photographs by Bindi Sheth, booklet published by India International Center, New Delhi as Occasional Publications.
8.46 – Ane Dhara Dhruji
Earthquake Stories in Gujarati edited by Esther David for Navbharata Sahitya Mandir, Ahmedabad.
Gattu Tales
Gattu Tales were written for Book Box to create awareness of nature in children.
Books written for children for Book Box
Cheeku & Tooi Learn English – Video Link
Cheeku & Tooi Learn Hindi – Video Link
Cheeku & Tooi Learn Gujarati – Video Link
Mahatma Gandhi, The Salt March, The Dandi March English – Video Link
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