Hope Less For Heritage

Tombstone to kitchen slabs:

The SMC (Surat Municipal Corporation) is all set to sell Surat’s heritage-Hope Bridge as scrap. Should we be surprised? In a sheer case of neglect by the local governing body, Surat’s heritage sites seem to have slight hope of surviving. Here is another such story:
GRAVE DANGER

In 2000 years of its existence in India, the now minuscule Jewish community has never faced anti-Semitism

Holding on to their own identity; the Jews in India have Christian neighbours, Hindu colleagues and Muslim caretakers.

They celebrate with equal zest Durga Puja, Diwali, Rosh Hashanah and Christmas. Their synagogues here often resound with incantations in Hebrew echoing recitation from Talmud and Torah.

Our superstars and celebrities sport Star of David tattoos, our gourmands relish delicatessen from kosher cuisine, prime areas in metros such as Mumbai and Kolkuta are till date known after icons such as Sassoon and Ezra.

It was in Surat that the Baghdadi Jews first step foot on when they arrived in India .A prosperous merchant community from Aleppo, descendants of which migrated to Calcutta. They were cosmopolitan businessmen who extended their trading and financial network around the globe, dealing in Arabian horses, precious gemstones and rosewater.

The Encyclopedia of Jewish Diaspora‘s earliest record states,’ In 1730, Joseph Semah arrived from Baghdad to Surat and set up the Surat Synagogue here.’ When it comes to Jewish cemeteries however, Surat stands not much better off than Pakistan. As land sharks, vandals and garbage encroach upon and shatter the sanctity of their final place of rest, the last surviving tombs of Baghdadi Jews in Surat, struggle to protect their proof of life.

While the city’s English and Dutch cemeteries are now protected by the ASI and are the pride of the city’s ancient past, an 18th century Baghdadi Jewish graveyard is surprisingly, part of a private industrial estate ! Its present owners, the Asarawallas, chase off any visitors who try to enter the premises which faces the main road on Katargam.

Miscreants often climb over the 10 foot wall to use this unique burial ground as a urinal, garbage dump or sit around the graves to enjoy locally made alcohol, bottles of which they dump around this graveyard.

“In general, the cemetery is in a terrible state of neglect, this is clearly a legacy looted.” says Dr. Shalva Weil, Senior Researcher-Research Institute for Innovation in Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

One of the graves within is that of Moseh Tobi, buried here in 1769, he was considered an elder leader. In his book ‘A History of the Jews in Baghdad’, David Solomon Sassoon has mentioned “In the year 1769 Moses Tobi, who is styled ha-Nasi ha- Zaken [The Elder Prince] died in Surat”

In the urban mess of the city, while this heritage site is on the verge of extinction, another Jewish cemetery has already disappeared. In February 2003, Dr.Sara Manasseh from London, visited and reported the dire straits of two Jewish cemeteries in Surat, to the then Municipal Commissioner, Mr.Aloria.

Ms Manasseh’s report stated how these burial sites of historical, communal, national and archaeological importance were infested with wild pigs and garbage, urging the local governing body to take action and save them.

No action was taken, as a result of which, the Bene Israeli Kabrastan, which was in the vicinity of the SMC offices at Mugalisara, now longer exists. ”There are no more Jews left in Surat, in the absence of caretakers, their graves have disappeared too. The entire area was encroached upon by slum dwellers who converted marble tombstones into kitchen platforms.” Says Jolly Wellington, who resides in the vicinity.

“Jewish graves have beautiful cupolas and marble gravestones. But often, Jewish graveyards are not preserved by the civic authorities as part of the city’s heritage and history. In this context, the Vadodara Israeli Kabrastan is a very good example, as to how, a citizen’s initiative could preserve it”says writer Esther David.

In 2004, the Israeli Kabrastan at Nizampura in the Banyan city was saved by an awareness drive run by TOI and prominent denizens who lent support.

Can we hope to save our heritage? Or is that too much to ask from us Surtis; a business minded community whose prosperous present exists due to its glorious past.