India, as we all know, is a mix bag of all religions and this 'Unity in Diversity' has been our strength and weakness :)
Today's 'Temple Saga' reaches Mattancherry in Cochin where one can find a thriving Jewish community in the old quarter of Cochin called the Jew Town. The synagogue in Mattancherry is one of the prominent tourist attractions which was built in 1568. It is adjacent to the Malabar Palace Temple and they share a common wall. The land was offered to the Jewish community by the then Raja of Kochi, Sri Rama Varma.
Simple in construction without the ornate decorations, Paradesi synagogue displays a charm that draws our attention. I think the most striking element here would be the clock with Hebrew inscriptions. 'Paradesi' literally means 'Foreigners' and refers to the mixture of jews from Kodungalloor, Middle-East and Europe.
The synagogue is also a treasure-house of antiques and rarity from the tiles to chandeliers, from gold crown to brass-railed pulpit.
A couple of pictures from Old Cochin
Stamp issued in 1968 to commemorate the 400 Anniversary of the Synagogue
The color prompt was:
Raspberry, Tangerine and splash, smudge or pop of yellow
My net connection was down for the past few days and I am extremely sad to have missed last Friday. Anyways, going with better late than never...I am submitting my post :(
Kochi pic and stamp - Courtesy: Google other than paintings and info.
Please do not use/reproduce the content (words as well as images) without the written consent of the author.
13 comments:
that raspberry is bright and lovely colour ..
wowo that is a an old old stamp
Bikram's
Deepa, i love how i always learn a little something new here. The history you include in your blog posts is interesting and i don't need to read a whole history book to learn at least SOMETHING about the rest of the world! ;-) Thank you. xx
This is a beautiful painting. I love the bit of history and culture that you included too.
The pictures are simply fascinating.
beautiful sketches/illustrations! This along with your other drawings of special temples must be magnificent to see in person. Thank you for sharing India and its beauty.(on my bucket list:)
Interesting information and beautiful paintings
Wonderful sketch.
Art with history...colors with knowledge ... Irresistible combo :)
Another absolutely gorgeous work of art! I love how I learn more about India every time I visit your blog! thank you for sharing your talents and your country with all of us at SOC! I look forward to next year! HUGS!!
Just beautiful Deepaz. Love your illustrations.
This is lovely! I love reading about them too :-)
What a beautiful synagogue! And it looks great in the SOC colors.
Nice to see it!
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