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David Sassoon's Counting House, the Birthplace of David Sassoon & Co., Mumbai (Approximate Location), India
This is the address of the modest counting house on Tamarind street in Mumbai, where Baghdadi Jewish merchant David Sassoon would begin his wildly successful, multi-national trading company David Sassoon & Co.
Description
BACKGROUND
According to Sifra Lentin, 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.”[1] Indeed, the story goes that it was at 9 Tamarind Lane, the address of an old counting house, that newly arrived David Sassoon 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),[2] as well as many landmarks in Jewish hubs in Palestine and Iraq.[3] 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.[4] After David’s death in 1867, his children would continue to play focal roles in the Jewish communities and economies of Bombay.
SITE
Today, Tamarind Lane is no longer. The street that once housed David Sassoon’s modest counting house is now called MP Shetty Marg, filled with chic buildings and restaurants a stone’s throw from the Bank of India and University of Mumbai. A small section of the street still bears the name Tamarind Lane. Locals still refer to it colloquially as Tamarind Lane.[5] Although we cannot conjure a picture or a monument of Sassoon’s historic counting house, present-day photos of Mumbai's Khala Goda art district, where Sassoon's counting house was located, almost seem to suffice, allowing us to imagine what Sassoon’s main haunt in the streets of Bombay looked like. The photographs attached are of various streets on Khala Goda. Unfortunately, photographs of Tamarind Lane were unavailable.
Sources
Footnotes:
[1] 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.
[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), 27-30.
[3] “The Sassoons in Baghdad and India,” Sotheby’s, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-sassoons-in-baghdad-india.
[4] 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.
[5]Abkush Bandyopadhyay, “Tamarind Lane: An Old Road Where the Old Name Sticks,” The Indian Express, Feb. 22, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/tamarind-lane-mumbai-old-road-mp-shetty-5073490/.
Bibliography:
[1] 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.
[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), 27-30.
[3] “The Sassoons in Baghdad and India,” Sotheby’s, Nov. 10, 2020, https://www.sothebys.com/en/articles/the-sassoons-in-baghdad-india.
[4] 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.
[5]Abkush Bandyopadhyay, “Tamarind Lane: An Old Road Where the Old Name Sticks,” The Indian Express, Feb. 22, 2018, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/tamarind-lane-mumbai-old-road-mp-shetty-5073490/.