Author: M.G. Radhakrishnan
Publication: India Today
Date: June 14, 2004
Introduction: An Ashkenazi Jewish
family in Kerala obdurately prefers God's Own Country to the Promised Land
Ruby Namia, 59, vividly remembers
the dates on which her three brothers and mother left Kerala to settle
down in Israel. They may have been heartbreaking moments, but for Ruby,
her textile businessman husband Abraham and their three daughters, the
pull of God's Own Country has been stronger than that of the Promised Land.
The Namias are proud Jews but prouder Malayalis. This, despite their losing
battle to keep alive their tradition in a society where their population
is fast dwindling. There were 3,000 Jews in Kerala in the 1940s; there
are less than 50 now. The Namias are the only Jewish family left in North
Paravur, 20 km north of Kochi, the earliest Jewish settlement set up 3,000
years ago when the trading Ashkenazi, or the Black Jews, arrived with King
Solomon's first fleet. Those living in Kochi are the Sepharadis, or the
White Jews from Spain and Portugal.
The steady migration of Jews to
Israel has understandably led to an erosion of the community's traditions
in the state. For instance, the historic 800-year-old Jewish synagogue
in Paravur, which was run by the Namia family, lies closed for there is
no quorum for services. However, the daily prayers and rituals like Sabbath
and Passover are strictly observed by the family.
The Namias, however, maintain they
don't feel insecure. "This is our land and we have not faced discrimination
of any kind," says Ruby. There is discrimination in Israel, insists Simon,
Abraham's younger brother who stays with the Namias. "Migrants are treated
as outsiders and second-class citizens there," he says. "Moreover, the
political turbulence and war-like conditions in Israel are unbearable and
have led to many of the migrants returning to Kerala." Simon himself feels
so much at home in the state that he is one of the few Jews in the country
who is politically active, being a member of the CPI(M).
The younger lot too feel strongly
bound to India. "I don't want to leave India but I wouldn't mind a holiday
in Israel," says Neema, one of the three college-going Namia girls. Quite
clearly her home is where her heart is.
Rahul Shukla, when not teaching
history at Lucknow's Christian College, spearheads the aptly named Save
Men from the Tiger campaign, a fruition of his 20-year-old study to combat
the tiger menace that has for long haunted the region. Shukla has trodden
these jungles since childhood and closely watched tigers. In the 1980s
when an unprecedented number of man-tiger conflicts caused panic in the
Terai region leading angry locals to retaliate, Shukla felt it was "time
to step in and help man and animal". Another emotional impetus was the
death of two of his uncles to the man-eaters.
Shukla's task is tough. In the past
eight years, 24 big cats have been killed. But he perseveres. He travels
to villages prone to tiger incursions, assuages the feelings of angry villagers
and convinces them that the cat attacks human beings in the absence of
a natural prey. He then teaches them how to prevent attacks by talking
loudly or taking a dog along when venturing out alone or wearing a human
mask on the back of the head to fool the tiger which always attack from
behind.
Shukla, who has written three book
on tigers, is assisted by IPS officer Vijay Kumar and IAS officers Yogesh
Kumar and P.K. Jha. Though he requires funds for his campaign, he doesn't
depend on others. "Often I spend half my salary on this and my wife thinks
I am crazy," jokes Shukla. "But she too pitches in." And as this tireless
campaigner silently goes about saving the lives of thousands of villagers-and
of tigers-he has been able to contain the menace of the man-eating tigers
of Terai without firing a single shot.
