Among prestigious homestays and coffee shops dotting the busy streets of Fort Kochi, Koder House stands out. Once home to the S Koder family, this heritage hotel is celebrating Hanukkah (aka Chanukah), an eightday holiday on the Jewish calendar.
The festival, which began on December 21, commemorates the rededication of the temple of Jerusalem after its destruction by the Greeks 2000 years ago. It is special to 1.2 crore Jews worldwide.
The focal point of the festival is the menorah, the candelabra with eight branches, which will be lit on all the festival days. It signifies the miraculous burning of sanctifying oil, enough for only one day, for eight days.
This is the third consecutive year the festival is being celebrated at the hotel and Chaim Weissmann, a Jew himself, has been in charge of the ceremonies.
“It has many similarities with Diwali as it’s a festival of lights,” says Weissmann as he oversees the arrangements made at the hotel as part of Hanukkah.
Weissmann, a PhD holder in English and a teacher at T John’s College in Bangalore, fell in love with Kochi seven years ago during one of his trips to the place. The rich tradition of Jews that existed here and a closeness to the S Koder family inspired Weissmann to own a place here. He is a globetrotter and shuttles between Israel and the US where his family members reside. “Though most of the time I’m abroad I make it a point to be here during the Hanukkah,” he says.
During the olden festival days the family used to have a feast at the house and invite people from other religions to be part of the ceremony. “It’s a wrong
notion that Jews don’t mingle with others. In fact we open our doors to all and everyone can be part of the festival,” says Weissmann.
With the Jewish community scattered all over the world many of their festivals have imbibed the traditions of the place they live. It’s the same with the case of Hanukkah.
But what Weissmann found interesting was the way the Jews in Kochi never deviated from the original tradition of celebrating it. The hotel is decked with King David’s star, a Jewish symbol.
The place is all set to welcome Xmas as well. “Normally the Hanukkah falls in the month of November or in the beginning of December. But our festival is in no way related to Xmas,” explains Weissmann.
“This is the only place in the country where Jews from various places get together during the festival,” says Vicky Raj, owner of Koder House.
FOOD FEST
An Indo-Jewish food festival has also been organised at the hotel. The sumptuous menu has been prepared by aunty Queenie, one of the members of the Koder family residing nearby. The specialities to look forward on the menu are Koubba, an Indo-Jewish dish of stuffed chicken cooked in a special gravy, and vegetable majbous, an Iraqi-Jewish dish of rice and vegetables.
So drop in at Koder House and be a part of the candle lighting at 8 pm followed by an exquisite Indo-Jewish spread. The festival is on till December 28.
jijicherian@epmltd.com