Welcome to the Promised Land: Kochi’s Jew Town rolls out red carpet for occupiers

Jose Dominic got the idea to renovate Jew Town’s Synagogue Lane and its surrounding areas a few years ago. He was able to implement these ideas during the pandemic, when tourism dipped.

As Fort Kochi gears up to host the fifth edition of the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, the biggest biennial contemporary art show in India, neighbouring Jew Town, in the city’s Mattancherry area, is also getting dressed up. Almost everyone who visits the biennale, which begins on December 12, is expected to go into Jew Town, with its famous synagogue. When they do, they will experience a Jewish ambience first-hand, complete with food, culture and the gaiety reminiscent of the community’s glory days in the city.

The revival’s key architect is Jose Dominic, former MD and CEO of CGH Earth group, who has established tourist properties across southern India aligned with nature, and imbibing the local culture and flavour.

After spending 40 years building and rebranding the family-owned tourism enterprise, Dominic stepped away from the responsibilities of the group to venture out on his own in 2018. The 72-year-old doyen of Kerala tourism says he has not retired but has assumed a new role as a creative entrepreneur and budding farmer.

The renovation of Jew Town’s Synagogue Lane and its surrounding areas as a heritage tourism spot was an idea Dominic conceived a few years ago. It took concrete shape during the pandemic, when tourism was hit badly.

In a chat with Moneycontrol, he elaborated on the concept. Excerpts:

What exactly was the thinking behind re-creating the old charm of Jew Town?

Unlike a typical hotel with a fortress model that has all its facilities available inside four walls, this will have a different structure. As you enter the street, you will find a few rooms in one building and some in another, a few metres away. The surroundings will have cafes and other facilities. It is an open street model.

Until the 1950s Jews were living here. There was much revelry and enjoyment in the Jewish residences. They had their holiday on Saturday, the Sabbath day. Once they emigrated to Israel, many of their residences were converted to shops, which closed by 6 pm. Thereafter the street became dead. Our effort is to bring back the residence character of the street and keep it alive at least till 9 in the night.

How do you plan to go about building the structure to realise your vision?

Well, it will be a group effort by different entrepreneurs, who will acquire and renovate the properties around. I have converted AB Salem House, associated with the eponymous lawyer and politician who lived there and was known as the Jewish Gandhi, to a four-bedroom hotel.

Ezekiel House, named after an 18th century Jewish merchant, who donated Chinese tiles to the Synagogue, will be another four-room hotel.

The spice godowns in the lane have been converted to a tribal gallery of contemporary art with the help of artist TA Satyapal.

Rocky Neroth, an antique trader, has acquired two properties and Tony Joseph has converted the Mandalay Hall into a hotel. We expect NB Majnu, who owns the Ginger House Museum Hotel to also chip in by opening cafes.

We have restored these buildings keeping their antiquity intact, not using any modern materials. We want these structures to be true to their original form. But they will have facilities like air-conditioning.

The ambience won’t be complete without Jewish food. So, is that a part of your plan?

My desire is to include Kosher (dietary standards of traditional Jewish law) Jewish food along with local varieties. Kosher-certified vegetables, meat and fish may be available but others like mutton and beef may not be easy to get.

Jews living here used to speak Malayalam and celebrate local festivals along with their fairs.

I have taken to cultivating spices, cocoa and coffee in my farm near Pala in Kottayam. Maybe I can link it to the project through a ‘farm-to-fork’ model.

Is this targeted at foreign tourists as both Fort Kochi and Mattancherry are favourite haunts of international travellers visiting Kochi?

We expect international, domestic and local tourists to visit the place. One significant trend noticed after Covid-19 is the surfeit of domestic travellers. Once more facilities are added—for instance, cloth and jewellery shops—then visitors from Kochi and other parts of Kerala may also come to enjoy the day shopping and eating. We have several Kashmiri shops and antique traders already in Jew town.

Does the Jew Town heritage spot have a role model?

There are several heritage destinations in Venice, Rome and Paris. And in India, we have Pondicherry and Benares as examples. But I feel Mattancherry has more similarities with Hoi-An in Vietnam. That ancient South-East Asian trading port, with Chinese, Japanese and European influences dating back several centuries, has been well preserved with old architecture and even the colour schemes intact.

Mattancherry has Dutch, Portuguese and English influences and is perhaps the only place in the world where the Jews did not face much persecution. The only time it happened may be during the reign of the Portuguese, who brought in their anti-Semitic attitude. Kerala is home to Paradeshi Jews or the white Jews, who came in the 16th century fleeing the Spanish inquisition, and Malabari Jews, who reached these shores in the pre-Christian era as refugees when Rome invaded Jerusalem.