DID YOU KNOW? Delhi’s only Jewish graveyard is situatednext to Khan Market

New Delhi, Wednesday December 3, 2008

2 My city

Rahul Sabharwal

The subways in ConnaughtPlace are home to a motleygroup of people selling a va-

riety of stuff. On a recent tripthrough one of these, HT Citycame across a peculiar charac-ter— a jyotishi who goes by thename of Radha Tripathi andhas been conducting his ‘busi-ness’ there for almost twentyyears. Although sitting by thewall in a subway may not allowhim to boast of a high-profileaddress, that doesn’t stop himfrom making tall claims. Duringthe recent US election, he prom-ised that he would come up witha slogan that could ‘twist theelection results’. “My predic-tions are 99.9 per cent right andI could come up with slogansthat would impact the elec-tions,” he says. “I did my MA inHistory from Kanpur Universi-ty…I can speak English, Hindiand Sanskrit,” he adds.

The wall behind Tripathi has

different rates that apply to dif-ferent people, written on it.While ‘riches’ (presumably therich people) have to pay Rs 500,the ‘others’ avail of the sameservices for Rs 100. So how doeshe set his criteria? “It justshows who’s rich and who’s not.The foreigners are usually richbut if they insist otherwise, Ijust charge the basic amount,”Tripathi says. “The students arenon-earning members so Icharge less. I have two sons, youknow,” he adds.

So how did he make the sub-way his home from 10 am to 5pm? He says, “There are a lot ofcases of theft or women beingharassed in the subways but thepolicemen help me. They saythat I can carry on with my ac-tivities and also keep a dandawith me, in case such a situa-tion arose.” As for how he is do-ing, he says, “This is busi-ness…there are ups anddowns.” rahul.sabharwal

@hindustantimes.com

Namya Sinha

Lali an Indian amongst the Jews,gives an account of what happensin the Chabad house (see above).

She cooks and cleans the House but thecommunity is so closed that even shedoes not know what goes on here. “Ya-haan har Friday ko yeh namaaz pad-htay hain.” (She, of course, does notknow that Jews don’t read namaaz. It’sjust that the community prayers makeher think that they read namaaz).

She tells us that the inhabitants hereeat potatoes and rice most of the times.“Bilkul mirch nahin, sirf namak hi na-mak khaatay hain.” Apparently Lalihas also learnt how to cook Israeli foodlike falafel, hummus and does make iton demand. Eggs, poultry, and milk arekept separately and also cooked in sep-arate vessels. The maid cannot switchon the oven or the cooking gas on herown. “Yeh sab yeh log khud karte hain,”she says.Lali points towards a loaf of breadcalled challah, which is a traditionalJewish bread. The Jews themselvesmake this bread in the ovens in thekitchen upstairs. There is also a stockof packed food kept in cartons bearingthe Israeli insignia and somethingwritten in Hebrew. Apparently they getmost of their traditional food importedfrom Israel. The travelling Jews put upin nearby hotels but visit Chabadhouse for prayers and meals. For Lali,Israelis are much better employers.They pay her 3,000 rupees a month andunlike our Indian housewives, theynever get on her back. She tells us thatthey are peace loving people and don’tmix with anybody.

namya.sinha@hindustantimes.com

Mayank Austen Soofi

Jewish skullcaps. Hebrew graffiti.Rabbi’s hat tucked on the wall. Wel-come to Jerusalem.Now come back to Delhi. We never left.

It’s just Paharganj and we are in ChabadHouse, a sort of a Jewish community club.With headquarters in Brooklyn, New York,Chabad Houses are established all over theworld. Look for it in touristy places visitedby Israelis. There is a Chabad House inDharmshala, in Pushkar and one such wasat Mumbai’s Nariman House. Last week itwas attacked by terrorists and its caretakercouple were killed.

With the tragedy still resonating in news-papers, I walked into Paharganj bylanes insearch of Delhi’s only Chabad House. Itused to be in a room at Hare Rama GuestHouse but now… it’s not there! “It shifted,”the receptionist said. He guided me to astreet lined with internet cafes and a fewsteps later I spotted a signboard — ChabadHouse.

Perhaps what McDonald’s is for travel-ling Americans, Chabad House is for Is-raelis — something familiar in a foreignland. A home away from home. Israeli backpackers on their way to Dharmshala orGoa usually make a stopover in Paharganjhostelries and it is at this Chabad Housethat they drop by to celebrate Jewish festivals like Hanukkah and Passover. Ifthere’s no special occasion, they simply

gather together to share the weekend Sabbath meals.

With its bookshelves, low tables andwooden chests, the hall appears to be a med-itative retreat but it’s empty. I climb anoth-er set of stairs. Here is a large cookingrange and beside it is standing a large hairyman. Emmanuel, a tourist from a town nearHaifa, has just returned from Himanchaland has barged in the Chabad House tospend a quiet afternoon. He knows the cou-ple who take care of this place. “They havegone to Mumbai after the murder of theRabbi there,” he says. “Can it happen here,too?” I ask him.

“My friend, many people are worried,”Emmanuel says, looking straight into me.“The most we can do is pray.” He leads meto the prayer hall. “See, this is just a roombut it is so lovely, so calm because of whatyou feel each time you are here.” Em-manuel opens a cupboard and shows me ho-ly scrolls that I’m not allowed to touch. “It’sread only during the festivals,” he says withsome pride. Emmanuel is obviously a manin love with his religion but I’m told thatnon-observant Jews, too, come to ChabadHouse to be among their own in this alienland. “Here we pray, eat and rest together,”says Imanuel. “This is a precious getaway.”

Considering that there are only 10 Jewishfamilies and one synagogue in Delhi, thisChabad House is indeed precious. After theMumbai attacks, it appears endangered,too. Delhi must never lose it.

A home for the travelling JewsMumbai’s terror-hit Jewish center has abranch in the Capital

The subway guru

Kosher maid in Israel

Home away from home: Emmanuel at the entrance of Chabad House

Prayer time: A visitor at Chabad House

Lost in translation: Hebrew noticesstuck on the board

Library: Sacred books, including theTorah, at Chabad House

Jew spotting: At Paharganj’s MainBazaar

Kosher maid: Lali, the maid at Chabad House

Fortune teller: At CP subway

Zabeeh Afaque

Facebook has become a new medium to payhomage to the victims of terrorist attack

on Mumbai. On Monday morning, 23 of myFacebook friends changed their profile pic-tures to the Indian flag. The inbox was flood-ed with mails asking people to wear white inthe memory of the dead. The campaign had1,04,196 confirmed supporters. The statusmessages, too, are getting harsher.

Siddharth Gautam, a Delhiite studying inLondon School of Economics, had this statusmessage: “People who come by votes aremore dangerous then terrorists who come byboats.” Juhi, a TV journalist, sarcasticallychanged her status to “…is quite angry. Whyare politicians asked to resign? Why can’tthey simply be fired?”

Sree Srinivasan, of the Columbia Journal-ism School, had this message on his status:“Only in NYC: watching an Uzbek barber tearup about the Mumbai he knows only throughchildhood Bollywood movies.”

Facebook has also become a platform toseek peace. A group called Creative Surfershas been posting banners in various groupsasking for peace.

zabeeh.afaque@hindustantimes.com

Peacebook’s face

MA

YAN

K A

UST

EN S

OO

FI

PH

OTO

S: M

AYA

NK

AU

STEN

SO

OFI

RA

HU

L SA

BH

AR

WA

L