Mumbai: Solomon Sopher, Chairman & Managing Trustee of the Sir Jacob Sassoon and Allied Trust, is asked, rather predictably, whether he is happy with the newly completed restoration of Kala Ghoda’s Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue. “I’m not happy with the work,” he responds. ‘‘I’m thrilled beyond words! It’s a great push for secularism.”
It does add to the warm glow that the Grade IIA Classical Revival Structure, originally designed by Bombay architects Gostling and Morris, has been restored to its original grandeur largely by the largesse of the JSW Foundation. It evidently made not a whit of difference that the group, which sanctioned more than Rs 4 crore of the Rs 5 crore restoration project, is helmed by the Jindals, Hindu by religion.
“I see a lot of communal rifts around us but we were brought up in a secular way,” vouches Sangita Jindal, Chairperson – JSW Foundation. “Insaan insaan hain, it doesn’t matter who we eventually help. We were restoring a temple in Hampi and I felt, why not do something for our city? This is not just an act of restoration; it simply shows that we all are one.
Sopher adds that apart from making it incumbent on all those who wish to enter the synagogue to have valid ID owing to the terror threat post 26/11, the temple of worship is open to all. “The synagogue is a holy place and non-Jewish people can not only enter but also participate in our prayers if they wish to. Often we have Muslims coming from Hyderabad saying we want to pray here and they are welcome.
” The monument, which is one of India’s most significant Jewish synagogues and a place of worship for Mumbai’s Baghdadi and Bene Israeli Jewish community, will be dedicated to the Jewish community and the cultural heritage of Mumbai city on February 7, 2019, in the presence of Governor C Vidyasagar Rao.
It’s time to rediscover the landmark synagogue’s decorative Victorian interiors, built in the Classical Revival style, and restored to its original grandeur and colour tones by Principal Conservation Architect Abha Narain Lambah and team, through the collaborative efforts of JSW Group, Sir Jacob Sassoon & Allied Trust, Kala Ghoda Association and World Monument Fund. Mumbai’s Jews may have dwindled to sorry numbers but, like Sangita Jindal hopes, it will provide visitors a visual celebration of the Jewish culture in India.
