Sassoon boon for Mumbai

In hindsight we were lucky A day later and we would have missed meeting with Dr Shaul Sapir a Baghdadi Jewish scholar and expert who was on his 15th trip to Mumbai this time to sign off his spectacular book in the making Bombay Exploring the Jewish Urban Heritage After all like most orthodox Jews Dr Sapir follows Jewish traditions seriously and does not step out after sunset on Friday evenings in preparation for the Sabbath day which is observed on Saturdays Of history as he traces Jewish contribution to the city In the background is David Sassoonrsquos statue PicsSuresh KK We spot Dr Sapir along with city historian Deepak Rao at our decided location Sir David Sassoon Library and Reading Room The doctor a tall strapping man in his 60s is speaking to a few visiting Jewish tourists about the scion of the Sassoon family Sir Davidrsquos contribution to Mumbai Coincidental then that the genial scholar reveals how his idea for his book was sowed right there when he saw the marble statue of the visionary Baghdadi Jew while on a visit to Mumbai 10 years ago ldquoIt made a huge impression his impact on the community and Bombay I decided to document all of it this was in the beginning but later it developed into a dedication to the city Every important building is in the book Back then I told my wife Ann that if I didnrsquot write it down nothing would remainrdquo Dr Shaul Sapirrsquos book cover Dr Sapir an expert on Israeli history architecture archaeology geography and town planning was born in Mumbai His father worked with Manchester Mills Chinchpokli and Sapir Jr studied at Deolalirsquos Barnes School Fifty years later while on a trip to his alma mater he was thrilled that it still resembled ldquoLittle England The staff couldnrsquot believe that someone who had schooled there from so long ago had dropped byrdquo he recounts He is now settled with his family in Jerusalem but this book a 10year love affair had its roots much earlier Research rewind Later sipping on Dukes Soda at the 100yearold Sassanian Boulangerie in Dhobi Talao and egged on by historian Rao Dr Sapir helps us piece together the story of the Baghdadi Jewsrsquo favourite son his stamp on the city and how this book evolved ldquoIt was very difficult because there was barely any content on Bombayrsquos Baghdadi Jews Much has been written about Cochinrsquos Jews and Bene Israelis even about Calcuttarsquos Baghdadi Jews but the Bombay chapter has no documentationrdquo he shares In 2002 he took a sabbatical to London and spent six months at the British Libraryrsquos archives He sifted through nearly 150 books on Bombay including several traveller accounts This familiarised him with the cityrsquos lanes gullies streets and buildings Photographs from publications including The Times of India and Illustrated London News helped him connect with these places ldquoAlso The Newspaper Archive at Collingdale connected to the British Library was a huge resource Later in 2006 the archives at the Royal Institute of British Architects RIBA I was able to further my researchrdquo the scholar reminisces In between these trips Dr Sapir visited the city often He says ldquoAs a geographer I realise that fieldwork is important I met Deepak Rao in 2006 and we scoured the city My thirst for knowledge and for Jewish connects took me to every corner Sir Jacob Sassoon School the Maharashtra State Archives The Times of India archives the Gazetteer and Punerdquo Flipping through the proofed manuscript that is scheduled for a lavish coffee table book release in two month39s time two factors strike us the intimacy of photographs captured by Dr Sapir ldquomany areas donrsquot exist any morerdquo and the series of detailed maps across sections ldquoThese will be useful there are maps for Jewish religious places educational institutions financial and commercial monuments and city monumentsrdquo Sassoon and the city ldquoThe Jews are called the Rothschildrsquos of the East and rightly sordquo Dr Sapir goes on to explain how philanthropy runs deep in the community ldquoBaghdadi Jews arrived in India in the late 18th century from Iraq David Sassoonrsquos father and forefathers were treasurers in Baghdad David became a Pasha Governor at a young age but at the time when the Ottoman Empire was at its peak and bribery rampant his father Sheikh Salah Sassoon suggested that David move away from Iraq to Iran Eventually he sailed eastward to Bombay which was emerging as a trading hub Sassoon Junior arrived on the island in 1832 Buoyed by a healthy business climate he stayed on and engaged in cloth traderdquo At the time opium trade was at its peak and along with the Parsis the two communities ensured it flourished Sassoon and his family won everyonersquos trust and their clean reputation saw them being regarded as safe traders ldquoThey were philanthropists not just for their community by building schools and synagogues but also for the government see box Did You Know They wanted to take care of the peoplerdquo The contribution of the Baghdadi Jews to Mumbai was spread across three generations and confined largely to the wealthy Sassoon family By World War II the communitiesrsquo numbers dwindled as most had moved to Israel Call of the motherland ldquoLet me state one thing India has never been antiSemitic The only reason why Jews left India was because of the winds of change that swept both nations around the same time The colonial British Empire gave way to an independent India on August 15 1947 while the State of Israel was created on May 14 1948 Besides there is a mention of longing for the motherland Israel in our prayer which played a huge role in calling the flock to the native countryrdquo reasons Dr Sapir adding that India and Indians has been very tolerant since the old ages He cites the example of Gerard Aungier Bombay Governor in the late 1600s who had first invited different communities to settle in Bombay to populate promote trade and agriculture and to develop the city into a profitable venture ldquoThese communities built Bombayrdquo he prophesies In the 1950s and 60s nearly 6000 Baghdadi Jews lived in and around Mumbai but today a handful survive As we ready to leave the quaint Irani landmark I ask Dr Sapir if he has family in the city ldquoYou know Moshe Shek Moshe is a wellknown restaurateur and has the restaurant chain Moshersquos He is my first cousinrsquos sonrdquo his eyes widen with pride ldquoJews are good bakers toordquo Mumbai was blessed that they made it their home like the philanthropists all those centuries ago The Connection Some of Mumbai39s biggest landmarks have a Jewish connect Kalaghoda Albert Sassoon funded the statue of Albert Edward Prince of Wales riding a black horse It stood there till 1965 after which it was shifted to the Rani Baug Sir Richard Temple Governor of Bombay on June 26 1879 unveiled the statue Flora Fountain Mumbai39s Baghdadi Jews believe that the name Flora is none other than Flora Sassoon 18591936 the enterprising wife of Solomon Sassoon 184194 She continued to man his businesses and legacy upon his death with tremendous success Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum Sir David Sassoon funded the statue of Prince Albert that stands at the centre of the splendid museum This merchant trader also gifted a 67foothigh Italianate clock tower to the Victoria Gardens now Rani Baug that was erected in 1864 the year of his death Asiatic Society39s Town Hall It boasted of a spectacular organ gifted by Sir Albert Sassoon Did you know gtgt The Jewish Club set up in the 1930s is no longer around It was for Jews only but later it opened its doors to other communities It was housed on the topmost floor of Jeroo Building in Kalaghoda FabIndia is its more popular occupant today gtgtu00a0Nadira Ezekiel a famous Hindi film actress was a Baghdadi Jew who hailed from Nagpada Byculla which was the hub for the community Rose Ezra and Ruby Myers were two other stars who were leading ladies in the 1920s and 30s Dr Sapir plans to include the Jewish connect with Indian cinema in the next edition of his book gtgtu00a0India sent contingents to the Maccabiyah Games Jewish Olympics that promoted sport among Jewish youth from across the world gtgtu00a0Between the 1920s and 40s Jews were the largest mill owners in India When Bombay had 140 mills Sassoon Mills constituted nearly 1214 of themu00a0