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David Sassoon Library, Mumbai, India
This Venetian Gothic-style building was erected by the Sassoon family and named after their 18th-century patriarch. Relaxing in the Sassoon library’s imposing reading room, absorbing its colonial splendor, one cannot help but reflect upon the impact the Jews made on so many world cultures.[1]
Description
BACKGROUND
According to Sifra Lentin, prominent Baghdadi-Jewish merchant David Sassoon “began his life in India when he nailed his mezuza, the sign of a Jewish home, to his doorpost at 9 Tamarind Lane.”[2] Indeed, the story goes that it was at 9 Tamarind Lane, the address of an old counting house, that newly arrived David Sassoon, having fled from Daud Pasha of Baghdad's repressive rule, birthed his trading company David Sassoon & Co, which would become a giant in the worldwide trade of opium, cotton, teak and other commodities. More than just a successful businessman, Sassoon was a pious orthodox Jew who enlivened the Baghdadi Jews of Bombay with a strong sense of community. His mansion in Byculla, Sans Souci became a gathering spot for Jews on the Sabbath, a place where lively religious services and impassioned religious and Talmudic studies abounded. The frequent gatherings at his mansion quickly developed into a Jewish brotherhood: Hebrath Beth David (Brotherhood of the House of David). Hebrath Beth David, according to Weil, would become a new paradigm for Baghdadi Jewish communal life and religious observance in Bombay. Sassoon would become the benefactor of the Magen David Synagogue in Byculla (1861), the Ohel David Synagogue in Poona (1867), the Sassoon Hospital in Poona (1867),[3] as well as many landmarks in Jewish hubs in Palestine and Iraq.[4] Sassoon’s work as a businessman, philanthropist and leader of the community of Baghdadi Jewish refugees was not confined to an insular Jewish community, but had a massive influence on the landscape and development of Bombay as a city. Specifically, David Sassoon’s venture into the world of opium trade with the Chinese brought in tremendous wealth to Bombay, bolstering its cotton mill industry and providing funds for the city’s public buildings and city planning.[5] After David’s death in 1867, his children would continue to play focal roles in the Jewish community and economy of Bombay.
SITE
Among the most significant and long-lasting legacies of David Sassoon’s life and influence in Mumbai is the expansive reading room that he sponsored in 1862, five years before his death. The building was not erected until 1870.
Known today as the David Sassoon Library, Sassoon’s reading room is a Gothic structure adjacent to Mumbai’s Kala Ghoda Square, and is considered a Grade I Heritage Structure. Before David Sassoon invested 60,000 Rupees into the structure, the David Sassoon Library was a menachics and architecture museum run by the Royal Mint and Government Dockyard. Sassoon’s investment was initially meant to turn the museum into a Mechanics Institute. It was transformed into a library and rare book reading room only after his death.[6] The library is still in use today, making it one of the oldest rare-book reading rooms in all of Mumbai. The library boasts nearly 3,000 members—who come from near and far to access the library’s treasured books—and over 70,000 books, a portion of them having to do with the Jewish life in India, in Hindi, English, Gujarati, and Marathi.[7]
Sources
Footnotes:
[1] Irene Shaland, The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories: Seeking Jewish Narrative all Over the World: CreateSpace, 2015.
[2] Sifra Samuel Lentin, “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle, edited by Shalva Weil, Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 27.
[3] Sifra Samuel Lentin, “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle, edited by Shalva Weil, Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 27-30.
[4] “The Sassoons in Baghdad and India,” Sotheby’s, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-sassoons-in-baghdad-india.
[5] Sifra Samuel Lentin, “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle, edited by Shalva Weil, Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 29.
[6] “History,” The David Sassoon Library and Reading Room, https://davidsassoonlibrary.com/history/.
[7] “Once Upon a Time: Almost 150 years old, David Sassoon Library keeps up with the times,” The Indian Express, Aug. 7, 2016, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/once-upon-a-time-almost-150-years-old-david-sassoon-library-keeps-up-with-the-times-2958663/.
Bibliography:
[1] Shaland, Irane. The Dao of Being Jewish and Other Stories: Seeking Jewish Narrative all Over the World. CreateSpace. 2015.
[2] Lentin, Sifra Samuel. “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle. Edited by Shalva Weil. Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 27.
[3] Lentin, Sifra Samuel. “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle. Edited by Shalva Weil. Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 27-30.
[4] “The Sassoons in Baghdad and India,” Sotheby’s, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-sassoons-in-baghdad-india.
[5] Lentin, Sifra Samuel. “The Jewish Presence in Bombay,” in India’s Jewish Heritage: Ritual, Art, & Life-Cycle. Edited by Shalva Weil. Mumbai: (Marg Publications, 2002), 29.
[6] “History,” The David Sassoon Library and Reading Room, https://davidsassoonlibrary.com/history/.
[7] “Once Upon a Time: Almost 150 years old, David Sassoon Library keeps up with the times,” The Indian Express, Aug. 7, 2016, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/once-upon-a-time-almost-150-years-old-david-sassoon-library-keeps-up-with-the-times-2958663/.
Photo Courtesy of Alex Shaland
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