Synagogues in India

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There are currently thirty-three synagogues standing throughout India, although many of them no longer function as such. These buildings dating from the mid-sixteenth through the mid-twentieth century once served the country's three distinct groups of Jews: the Bene Israel, Baghdadi, and Cochin communities. Some of the structures, particularly those for the Baghdadi Jews, are grand and built in various Western styles using fine materials and elaborate detail. Others are smaller and even provincial. A few, particularly those built by the Bene Israel Jews in the Konkan region during the 19th century and the ones typically built far earlier by the Cochin Jews in Kerala, are interesting blendings of colonial influences, vernacular building traditions, and Jewish liturgical requirements.

Found within all Indian synagogues are a central bimah (platform where the religious service is led), freestanding wooden benches, a profusion of hanging glass and metal oil lanterns, large shuttered windows with clerestories, a chair for the circumscion ceremony and one for the propher Elijah, and separate seating areas for men and women.

The State of Maharashtra, which includes Mumbai (Bombay), its suburbs of Thana and Kurla, and the neighboring Konkan region (a string of small towns and villages a day trip outside of the city) is where the largest number of synagogues were built. There are two synagogues in Pune, one in New Delhi, one in Ahmedabad, and four in Kolkota (Calcutta. Not all of these structures are open today. Kerala, in far southwestern India, has seven remaining buildings. Only one, in Kochi's (Cochin's )Jew Town, is the only functioning house of prayer. It dates from 1568, although portions of the compound of parts were added later or altered over the years.

Cochin synagogues are unique in that they feature two bimahs. The primary one can be found within the sanctuary's main level, where the men sat. The second, used during holidays and special events, is found on the gallery level adjacent to the space dedicated for women's seating.

Baghdadi synagogues all have particularly large Arks (the place where the sefer Torahs, or Jewish law, are stored). From the Ark's outside, the doors appear to cover a standard-sized cabinet typical to most synagogues around the world. Once the doors are opened in Indian Baghdadi synagogues, however, a sizeable room is revealed that is ample enough to store as many as one hundred Torahs.

The current Jewish population is likely less than 5,000. Fewer than 15 Cochin Jews remain, Baghdadi Jews number no more than a few hundred, and the rest are Bene Israel.