Jael Silliman of Jewish Portraits:Indian Frames talks about the Baghdadi Jewish community of Calcutta. Once a thriving community in Calcutta, the Arab-speaking Jewish community has dwindled to a handful of people points out Jael.

India has been home to the Jewish community for many centuries. In India there are three distinct groups of Jewish people: Cochin Jews, Bene Israeli Jews and the Baghdadi Jews. The Baghdadi Jewish community is a relatively new community in India, about 200 years old.

According to Jael, the first Baghadadi Jew to arrive and settle in Calcutta was Obadiah Ha-Cohen. Cohen came from Aleppo, Syria to India in 1798, and Jael's family traces their roots to him. Over the next 250 years Baghdadi Jews continued to migrate to Calcutta, and by early 20th century had emerged as a tight-knit, prosperous community. But, today there are no more than a handful people that live in Calcutta, many of them have migrated to Australia, Israel, UK and USA.

In her book Jael chronicles the Baghdadi Jewish community of Calcutta through the lives of four generation of women in her family. Jael's great-grandmother Farah moved from Basra, now in Iraq, to Calcutta after her marriage; her grandmother Miriam lived in Calcutta, London and finally migrated to Israel; while her mother Flower lived in India, and migrated to Israel and now lives in the USA.

Baghdadi Jews India