THE WORLD'S ALTAR

KERALA'S COAST WELCOMED JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY, AND ISLAM CENTURIES AGO-SHAPING A LEGACY OF PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE THAT ENDURES TODAY

- ANAND NEELAKANTAN

KERALA'S COAST HAS LONG BEEN MORE than just a strip of sand meeting the sea. For over 2,000 years, it's been India's front porch to the world—welcoming not just spices and silk but stories, ideas, and faiths that shaped its culture. While tourists often come for the backwaters or hill stations, few realise Kerala is also where the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—first arrived in India.

I've wandered through many of India's sacred places–from Varanasi's ghats to Ladakh's monasteries–but nowhere does religious coexistence thrive quite like Kerala's coastal towns. Last month, I was in Mattancherry, Kochi, standing before the Paradesi Synagogue.

Built in 1568, it's one of the oldest active synagogues in the Commonwealth, tucked quietly amid spice shops and winding alleys. The whitewashed building with blue trim quietly marks 2,000 years of Judaism in India.

A LONG JEWISH LEGACY

According to tradition, Jews arrived on these shores during King Solomon's time, trading in peacocks and spices. Historical records suggest a Jewish presence as early as 70 CE, possibly even earlier, at the ancient port of Muziris. The Paradesi Synagogue's unique hand-painted tiles and centuries-old lamps speak of a long and peaceful legacy.

But this is just one chapter. Kerala once had at least eight synagogues, each blending Jewish rituals with Kerala's local design. The Kadavumbhagam Synagogue in Ernakulam has a wooden ark facing Jerusalem, framed by ornate oil lamps. In Parur, a beautifully restored bimah (a raised platform in the synagogue) made of teakwood stands as testament to a once-thriving community. The crown jewel, however, might be the synagogue in Chendamangalam.