THE fourth World Marathi Conference took place almost a year ago in Jerusalem. An odd choice of venue, you may think. But for Flora Samuel, it was an affirmation of the Bene Israelis status as a vibrant part of the Maharashtrian diaspora.
Samuel was born Manik Ashtamkar in Ashtami, a small village in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, 72 years ago. Her father instilled in her a love for Marathi at a very early age. She did BA in Sanskrit from Elphinstone College, Mumbai. She initially intended to study Mathematics, but was convinced otherwise by her Sanskrit teacher, Professor Gajendra Gadkar. Impressed by her literary talent, he told her: "Manik, there will be many Einsteins amongst Jews but very few Kalidasas."
After marriage, she took on a Jewish first name and her husbands last name and so became Flora Samuel and Manikbai to fellow Bene Israelis.
For the last 10 years, she has been editing Maiboli (Mother Tongue), a Marathi quarterly that publishes articles on the Bene Israelis. Just as Bene Israeli leaders in India adapted kirtans to Jewish themes to keep away Christian missionaries in the early 1900s, so Samuel has revived the form to pass it on to the second generation. She has composed four kirtans in Marathi based on poems about Moses, Ruth and other legendary Jewish figures, all of which were performed at community functions. She was honoured at a Kirtan Sammelan on a recent trip to India.
In her book, Samskritisangam (Confluence of Cultures), published recently by the Mumbai-based Granthali, Samuel talks about the influences that have moulded herIndian, Jewish and Israeli. All three cultures, she says, are just as dear to her. As they are to the rest of her community.
