A reader writes:
When I visited Cochin in late 2006, I experienced massive cognitive dissonance in the streets and alleys around the Pardesi Synagogue. Wrought iron security grills on windows are ubiquitous in Indian urban areas, and the Jew Town neighborhood is no exception. It is pretty common for these grills to be decorated as well as functional, and I had an extremely hard time wrapping my head around grills adorned with the Star of David immediately adjacent to grills with swastikas. Even knowing the Sanskrit origins of the symbol, it was a very jarring juxtaposition.
Another writes:
I am from Kerala and the Washington Post article about the "Jew Town" in Kochi didn't get the Kerala picture quite right. The whole article seems to portray a picture of ghettos where Jews live. This is quite contrary to life in Kerala. It is one of the most culturally diverse and open societies in India.
Kerala is a state which has the least animosity (in India) among the different religious communities. Reason being that Kerala is very diverse - 56% Hindus, 25% Muslims and 19% Christians. And Kerala has been ruled by kings of different religions at various times. The question about a Muslim being asked whether he minds working in Jew Town is extremely silly, because you cannot survive in Kerala if you start discriminating against people from other religions.
The question of Israel and Palestine is not on the radar screen on the average Malayalee. They have better things to worry about. Also, beef eating is very common in Kerala. This is unlike North India where beef eating is taboo. So the WP reporter just got it wrong.
Another:
I had heard of "Jew Town" from a business school classmate of mine who was from southern India (a Catholic who had been educated in British private schools and then served in the army in Kashmir, an interesting fellow to say the least) and was describing the ethnic mix in that region. Of course, I had the exact reaction to the term "Jew Town" as you'd expect. I quickly realized that there's no loaded connotation to that term among the Indians. They're not Louis Farrakhan and have no reason to suspect that such a term is charged in American discourse.