Jewish Heritage of the Deccan Book
Please join us to celebrate the Deccan Heritage Foundation’s new publication; Jewish Heritage of the Deccan; Mumbai, The Northern Konan, Pune.
Co-authored by Kenneth X. Robbins and Pushkar Sohoni, this guidebook is illustrated with splendid, newly commissioned photographs by Surendra Kumar. It is the first such publication to describe the synagogues, cemeteries, libraries, schools and research centers of the Bene Israel community and the more recent émigré Baghdadi Jews in the state of Maharashtra, India. Monuments and sites of both communities are preserved in Mumbai (Bombay) and Pune (Poona), as well as in the smaller towns in the northern Konkan region.
Descriptions are arranged according to itineraries to encourage citizens of Mumbai and Pune, as well as visitors to these cities and the towns of the Konkan, to discover this often overlooked aspect of local history. Intended as a handy reference to the Jewish presence in Maharashtra, the volume should contribute to a better appreciation of this significant aspect of Deccan history, and hopefully to the preservation of Jewish sites and monuments for future generations.
Jewish Heritage of the Deccan Book — A talk with Dr. George Michell, Editor and Kenneth X. Robbins, Author
October 26th at 6:30 pm.
Oded Halahmy Gallery at ASF
Center for Jewish History
15 W 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
Bios
Dr. George Michell trained as an architect and studied Indian archaeology at the School of Oriental and African Studies at University of London. He has conducted research projects at many historical sites in India, including Hampi Vijayanagara. Among his many publications are Architecture and Art of the Deccan Sultanates, Mughal Architecture & Gardens, Falaknuma Palace, Hyderabad, Late Temple Architecture of India, and Mansions of Chettinad. He is based in London, and is a founding trustee of the Deccan Heritage Foundation in the UK.
Kenneth X. Robbins is a psychiatrist based in Washington D.C., as well as a collector of South Asian art, and historian of expatriate communities in India. He is co-editor of African Elites in India: Habshi Amarat (Ahmedabad, 2006) and Western Jews in India (New Delhi, 2013), and curator of an exhibition on Jews in India held at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi, in 2017. He is also interested in Maharajas, Nawabs and Indian Princely States.
ASF proudly worked with Dr. Robbins to create the traveling exhibit, “Baghdadis & the Bene Israel in Bollywood & Beyond,” which was covered by NBC News, Desi Talk (the NY Metro print edition of The New Times India), The Jewish Week, and The Jerusalem Report. The exhibit was inaugurated with a talk by India’s Consul General at New York.