Where Sacred meets Profane

The Baghdadi Jewish community came to Calcutta during the British Raj and by and large left India when it gained independence. As they were both unsure of what their future would be in an independent India as well as in search of better opportunities. Among the few traces that the Calcutta Jews have left behind are three impressive synagogues situated in and around Synagogue Street. They are Megan David, Naveh Shalome and the Beth El Synagogue.

The Portuguese Traders arrived in Calcutta before the British and some of them settled near the bank of the river Hooghly. While the commercial history of the Portuguese in India is well known, its religious counterpart remains less chronicled. A beautiful remnant of Portuguese religious history is the Portuguese church, a Catholic church formally known as the Cathedral of the Most Holy Rosary. It is located on the Portuguese Church Street at the crossing of Synagogue Street and Canning Street.

The Armenians best known as the most significant diasporic trade community in Calcutta were also believed to have brought Christianity to India. One of the most beautiful churches and the oldest in Calcutta is the Armenian Church also known as ‘Mother Church of the Indian Armenians’. Located in a quaint lane called the Armenian Street off again the Synagogue Street, which bears testimony to their trading past in the form of a building of an Armenian trader that is situated diametrically opposite to the church.

Synagogue Street in its more profane avatar, the Brabourne Road, personifies Kolkata’s contemporary informal economy. A bustling zone representing myriad forms of commercial enterprise.

Picture Credit: Roma Singh

The images used were taken as part of a Migrant City Tour organised by Calcutta Research Group. AGA wishes to acknowledge the same.