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Remember the film Jaws, where sharks hunted human beings? Well, you may not know that roles are often reversed when human beings also hunt sharks for food. It is rather hard to believe that if sharks relish human beings, we can also eat shark meat, by creating some unusual sea food recipes. In many countries, it is supposed to be a delicacy and even in India, it is made in some southern states. Few years back we had the rare opportunity of tasting shark curry, made with filets of the white cheeked shark. The taste was different and the experience worth repeating. They say, shark filets are cut from the middle of its enormous belly and have a rather rubbery taste. To minimize the rubbery feeling, shark filets are first marinated in vinegar to soften the meat. There are three ways of eating shark meat, fried, curried or made with pieces of sun dried shark, which is powdered and mixed with fried onions, curry leaves, spiced with red chili powder, cooked like a dry chutney and eaten with plain steamed rice. Fried shark is made with slightly larger filets and made like any other fried fish, only after it is marinated in vinegar. While shark curry needs much more finesse in the preparation. To start with, oil is heated in a casserole, onions browned and spiced with turmeric, fresh green chilies, red chili powder and ginger paste, till the masala absorbs the oil, pieces of shark are added along with a thinner second press of coconut milk and cooked on a slow fire, till it softens. At this point, the thicker first press of coconut milk is added, brought to a boil and mixed with a little vinegar, again simmered on a slow fire and then served piping hot with appams or rice, so that your Jaws tingle for more and some more…

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Early morning, even as I was having tea and reading about the ban on plastic items in the newspaper, I could hear a matka-seller passing by, beating a tune on a matka with a ringed finger, almost a Ghatam player. As, it is the perfect timing to introduce clay kulhars to serve tea in roadside kitlis, instead of those wobbly plastic cups. Terracotta kulhars are both eco-friendly and easy to hold. Even restaurants could serve, water, chai and chaas, by buying them and supporting potters, as they are soon disappearing from our life. Sadly, most homes do not have matkas, as the designs of filtered water systems are not conducive to fill the same water in a matka. The idea of serving chai in kulhars, immediately conjures images of the earth, water and fire, as clay is a symbol of our earth-based,  crafts-based culture. It is also, an inheritance, we received from the Indus Valley Civilization. Kulhars were not heavy, neither big nor small, but have the correct size of a normal teacup and it is a mystery, why we cannot revive the kulhar culture in Gujarat. Of course, some people argue, about the disposal of kulhars, but,  this can be worked out with experts working at design schools. The potter’s art can be revived, as our city still has gaams and puras, which always had a resident potter, working on his wheel, sitting hunched on the floor, under a banyan tree and like a magician creating innumerable pots from just one ball of clay.

Jaipur Literature Festival

An interview of Esther David, Jewish-Indian sculptor-artist and Sahitya Akademi award winning author of The Book of Rachel, talks about life as a Jew in India to Sonal Srivastava at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

What is it like to be Jew in a majority Hindu India?

First thing, it’s a matter of great pride and respect that Jews have never been persecuted in India. Wherever we go, people accept us.

I belong to the Bene Israel Jewish community that came to India 2,000 years ago following a shipwreck. We landed on the Konkan coast, so there is a lot of Maharashtrian influence on our community. For example, I come from Danda village, so my family name is Dandekar. But now that the family has become anglicised, we don’t use it anymore. However, if someone from the community asks which village I’m from, I say, ‘Danda; I’m a Dandekar.’ But most people have retained their Indian surnames — so they have a biblical name as well as an Indian surname.We have adopted the Indian way of life. People in my community don’t wear a bindi, but I do. We practise our religion behind ‘closed doors’ — a secret Jewish life; mostly nobody is allowed to enter our synagogue, and that’s how we have remained Jewish. There are a lot of do’s and don’ts in our community.

What are these do’s and don’ts?

n For instance, women are not supposed to stay out late at night. If they go shopping, they have to go in groups, preferably with other Jewish women. These rules specifically pertain to women and everybody adheres to them. Then, there are dietary laws about food and laws about dresses that we should wear, and about our behaviour. Only recently, since the last two or three years, I see Jews celebrating Holi. Earlier, we were not allowed to play Holi or participate in Navaratri celebrations. Our religious education is given at home; there is a code of conduct at home and at the synagogue. A large part of our community has migrated to Israel. There are only 4,000 Jews in India now and we stay connected. If you stay together, you preserve your religion.

Israel is in conflict with the Arab world. So, how does that affect your life in India?

There has never been a problem. Earlier, most of our synagogues and our homes were in Muslim communities, but now we have moved out to more cosmopolitan cities. However, some of our synagogues still remain in Muslim communities. In Ahmedabad, there is a synagogue opposite a Parsi fire temple; behind that is a church, and on it’s right, there is a mosque. Nearby, there is a temple. In the evening, prayers in all these places of worship begin; so you can hear temple bells and calls of muezzins all over — it is interesting.

You said Jews have started playing Holi. What else is changing in the Jewish community in India?

We have started participating in Navaratri, a big festival in Gujarat, when everybody is wearing beautiful clothes and is out dancing the whole night. You cannot deny it to the younger generation. So the whole family participates in the festival. Holi is still a bit of a problem because of the free mingling of the sexes — though, more or less, they try to keep the girls from playing Holi. It is done to keep the Jewish family structure intact, so that they dont marry outside the community as the community is getting smaller.

You said you follow religion behind ‘closed doors.’ What kind of spiritual education is imparted to the young?

We came to India because of a shipwreck, so all the scriptures were lost to the sea. We had an oral tradition, one was Shabath — Friday night prayers. Second thing they knew was burial — if someone dies, he has to be buried and not cremated. Third was prayers to Prophet Elijah. The other things we followed were circumcising the male child and the law that says the Lord, the God is one and that there is one, faceless God — that’s the hard part of being a Jew. All that I’m telling you is part of my novels — the discovery, the search, an abstract notion. I didn’t know what it was to be Jewish because I didn’t come from a religious family. I went through various problems that Jewish women face in India.

Can you cite a few instances of the problems you faced while growing up?

Two things happen when one is young: one is a great desire to dress like everyone else and wear unisex clothes that are worn globally. Second is getting attracted to someone outside the community. For this reason, some families prefer to take their daughters to Israel. Third thing is dietary laws — almost everybody follows them, but sometimes a young teenaged boy may not want to follow them. These conflicts are just like conflicts in other families in India. Jews place a lot of emphasis on education. The more we get exposure, the more we have desires and then coping with rules becomes difficult.

You said the hardest part of  being a Jew is the abstract  notion of one faceless God. What is your perception of the Hindu pantheon of gods?

I went to art school. Normally, Jews keep their children away from art schools because art can be polluting. So when I went to art school, there was immense conflict; I was continuously exposed to many gods, temples, forms and faces. I used to wonder what should be the face of God and question why Jews don’t have that. Even if you go to Navaratri pandals, you cannot avoid the face of Durga and her big eyes. Between art and literature, I tried to create an imagery of this conflict.

Courtesy : SpeakingTree.in

Today, Ahmedabad is 605 years old and time to celebrate the occasion by taking a walk in the old city of Ahmedabad.

In 2015, it is not as easy as before, as several roads are closed down.

Old timer Ahmedabadis have ways and means of circulating in the old city, even if roads are closed, barricaded, closed or walled in. They know how to break walls. So, when I read about the vendors problems at Bhadra plaza, I thought it needed a dekho. I had prepared myself for a long walk at the plaza, but even with the gates and railings, the auto-driver drove on a parallel street, onwards to Teen Darwaza. When he stopped, I could have walked to Rani no Hajiro, but preferred to turn towards the plaza. Since, it was inaugrated; I have been impressed by the dignified behavior of vendors in this area. No doubt, many lost business during the closure of this area and regulars who shop at the old bazaars had to take long detours from Khamasa or Relief road to reach Rani no Hajiro, Maneck Chowk and Ratan Pol by paying triple fare to auto-rickshawallahs. Yet, one could still reach Dhalgarwad, by taking a small by-lanes from Italian Bakery.

Yet, the vendors and shop keepers of this area were indettered and took life in their stride, so much so that during the inauguration, they downed their shutters to facilitate the organizers and saw the programmme, perched atop their shops, as the late Jabbarbhai’s widow who keeps the eternal flame burning for goddess Laxmi in an alcove of the central arch of Teen Darwaza; was sadly seen fast asleep in a dark corner under the stage, oblivious to the elite audience.

Even as vendors are allotted new places or are displeased about the draw for allotment of space, they have kept their cool, as they stand in orderly clusters along the serpentine granite pathways, which is similar to the way other vendors have organized themselves on the Riverfront Bazaar. The Ahmedabadi character of accepting change and getting along with life can also be seen in the way, the worshippers at Bhadra Kali temple continue to seek the goddess’s blessings, as vendors of lotus, agarbattis and coconut spread their wares on the parapets. Maybe, they miss the elephants, but are sure they will reappear through some lane, unknown to the security guards.

The concept about the pedesterian plaza may work during the short winter, but I wonder, how we are going to make it from Bhadra to Maneck Chowk during the long summer months, as the trees have disappeared with the bird songs. Yes, a few trees are there and so are the Swallows and Swifts, nesting inside the arches of Teen Darwaza, as some old houses on the peripphery are falling apart and a theatre nearby needs a new life. Agreed, few saplings in tree-guards can be seen, even if they will take years to bloom, so, I returned back home with mixed feelings of loss and hope.

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