Kerala has been home to several synagogues and many of them are not in good shape. Nor are they functional and intact except the one - Paradesi Synagogue, Mattancherry. The Kadavumbhagam Synagogue, dating back to early
sixteenth to early seventeenth centuries ( age is a subject of debate) located on Jew
Street near broad way, Ernakulam was poorly maintained and there had
been an erosion of heritage value of this historical structure which
once served Malabari Jews - mostly called colored Jews or Bagdadi Jews.
It is believed that the Jews resettled here to avoid confrontation with the Moors - Muslims from North Africa who were involved in the spice trade. The competing Jews were threats to them in the spice trade, they thought
and consequently the relationship between them became soured. To avoid
further trouble and violence Malabari Jews stepped out and moved over
to a better location, abandoning the synagogues. They
resettled around Ernakulam in 1154 under the patronage of local
Maharajah. The synagogue fell into disuse owing to local Jewish
community's emigration to Israel, a new Jewish nation in the Middle East
in 1950s and 1960s. By 1972 there was no service and later this place
was closed for ever after the relocation of the Torah to
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The
ground floor of this place occasionally used for social meeting and the
rooms on the first floor were used for running a Jewish school. Mostly
Jews lived around the synagogue. The
former synagogue had been converted into a fish and flower store by a
local merchant one Elias Josephai and now it is called “Cochin
Blossoms”. He personally carried out some renovation work. A complete
restoration requires lots of money. Earlier, the caretaker and others
had no plans to hand over the synagogue to the State Government. However, as part of restoration of heritage sites and structures, the Kerala government in association with one Jay Waronker, a well-known conservationist, had a plan to preserve this Jewish prayer house by 2010.
Such artistically unique and distinctive historical structures need conservation and restoration, so that the future generation will get benefit out of it. Otherwise such great monuments may get lost over a period of time owing to vagaries of climate and time, not to speak of human neglect.
