Hathi ka naam Kalidas hai....

^ Jonah and some face in the old city of Cochin.

Below - This was a neat thing in Cochin, the kids got to witness Kalidas, an elephant who is used in a local temple, get a bath and a scrub down with a bunch of coconut husk. The kids were even brought up to the elephant and could feel it. Not a great deal of attention to litigation and insurance concerns here in India, it's pretty liberating!

After he got his bath, we followed him to where he was used in some ritual or other. The music was extremely loud, you'll notice that when you play the video.

I turned to a guy next to me during the bath and asked, "Hathi ka naam kya hai?" He answered, "Kalidas." I had a little conversation in Hindi right there. 8)

Pictures of Kerala Trip

We're home! Here are the first of many great photos of our trip.





^ Sarah Cohen, a nice woman we met in Jew Town. She is one of the last Jews there. She spoke Malayalam, Hebrew, Hindi, and English. She was a living testimony to a disappearing people, the "white Jews" of Cochin. Fascinating and very nice, as well.

Below that is the picture of her embroidery shop's window, complete with Jewish stars of wrought metal.

I believe she thought we were Jewish, because we have a son named Jonah and we showed such deep interest in her. She asked us to come to service on Saturday, but she said she doubted that there would be a minyan, which (we learned) is a ten man group that is the minimum required to hold a Hebrew sabbath service.





^ The sign outside the Jewish graveyard in Cochin. You'll notice the name "Cohen" on there a few times. Sarah Cohen is from this family line.

Below that is a photo of the graveyard itself.



^ The boys sitting in front of a beautifully colored door in Cochin. We like this picture a great deal.

Dawn of a New Year.... in India

Last day in Kerala today, we fly back tomorrow. This hotel, pictured above, has been aesthetically nice and very poor in service. It has not been a good experience. But being in a tropical setting has a way of salving the bad things in your midst, no?

This year will be spent entirely in India, minus the two visits back to the US we have planned. Wow. A whole year and a half ahead of us here in India.

Again, wow.

Happy New Year to everyone!

Please stay tuned in, there are some really great pictures, videos, and stories coming up over the next week or so on cameronsinindia.blogspot.com.

Kerala

Today we made it into the inside of the synagogue in Jew Town. It was an amazing experience. I purchased a book on the Jews of Kerala, and there appears to have been two main periods of Jewish migrations to Kerala, the first was after the destruction of the first temple in Jerusalem (800 BC) and the second after the destruction of the second temple (circa 90 AD). Then there were subsequent phases through the Middle Ages and up until the Second World War. It is a fascinating story. Virtually all of the Jews have departed from Kerala at this point.

As you can see from the family at the top, the first group of Jews who had been in Kerala for more than 2,000 years were called "black Jews" and had the ability to blend into the local populations and survived the Inquisition and other difficult events that came to India (yes, the Inquisition came here) with greater ease than the "white Jews" who came later to India from Europe. The last of these "white Jews" includes Mrs. Sarah Cohen, who had her picture taken with the boys, more next week.

I have been truly captivated by their presence here, I find it mysterious, odd, and engaging. The historian in me has definitely come out due to this. Tara shares my interest, and Liam continues to ask me "Why do you think that is so cool?" I attempted to answer, but I am not sure it sunk in.


The tiles on the floor of the synagogue were of a Chinese make, and the story goes that they were a gift to a local Maharaja, but a Jewish guy told the king that the tiles had been mixed with cow blood, so he gave them away to the synagogue as a gift (cow's blood is ritually impure to Hindus). Funny. You can see those tiles above.

I asked an old Jewish man if I could take my picture with him. He said, "Why?" I answered, "Out of respect for you." He seemed unconvinced and would not do it.

The synagogue bell tower that is pictured above has four faces. One face has Malayalam numbers (local to Kerala). One face has Arabic numerals. One has Hebrew numerals. The final face has Roman numerals. Truly fascinating.

Kerala

We had a nice tour of the backwaters today. We went via a canoe and had a nice trip back into the places where the native populations live. It is a lush and green area. At one point the guy pushing the canoe (bamboo pole) brought us onto a property where a family grows a large variety of plants for use in ayurvedic medicine, which is specific to Kerala. This region is known as "the spice coast" from when Europeans came here to trade in spices.

The pepper on your dining room table - this practice came from when Europeans gained an appreciation for it from imports that came from Kerala, centuries back.

It grows on a vine. I did not know this before.

Anything you hear referred to as "Malabar".... that is Kerala's old name.

The food here is often cooked with coconut. Yum.

A big treat, we went into a church where Vasco de Gama was buried. I said "was' because his remains were brought back to Portugal after sitting for 14 years in a grave here.

This state has the highest percentage of Christians in India, about 25%. So, like Goa, it has a different feel. Churches everywhere.

India is full of surprises......

Learn more about Kerala.

Today

Really great day. We spent time in Jew Town again, and also went all over the city. Really interesting place. At one point we got suckered into pulling up a huge Chinese net at the request of some fishermen (see the nets on yesterday's post). I knew what was coming, and gave them a few rupees for the privilege. I also amazed and amused some Kashmiri shopkeepers (they own all of the craft shops throughout India) with my small amount of Hindi. It's getting fun. I understand much more than my ability to respond.

Excited to show everyone the pictures!







^ We brought the kids to a performance of Keralite dancing and martial arts. The dancing included kathakali, a style I have seen before, now the whole family has had the pleasure. The martial arts is called "kallaripayattu", it is believed to be the oldest form of martial arts in Asia, even older than the better-known styles like kung fu, ju jitsu, etc. You can imagine which son enjoyed the martial arts and sword fighting that was part of it....



^ Tomorrow we take a conoe trip through the backwaters of Kerala. We will stop at villages along the way. Should be really amazing, as has this whole experience been.

Remember, tune back in for the pictures and videos of this trip!

Kerala

We went to Jew Town in Cochin today. We met Sarah Cohen, one of the last ten Jews here in Kerala. The rest have left for Israel. She makes children's clothing and knits a variety of other things. It was a unique experience to meet her. The synagogue was locked, so we will come back another time.

We will show pictures when we get back next week!



The Chinese brought this kind of fishing net here centuries ago. Here in India they are used only here in Kerala. We saw these on the waterfront today. Really neat.

Kerala is a tropical paradise. Beautiful!