Esther David

Esther David comes from the Bene Israel Jewish community in India. She grew up in Ahmedabad, where her father Joshua, a hunter-turned-veterinarian, founded the Ahmedabad Zoo. She trained as a sculptor and lectures on art history at the School of Architecture, School of Interior Design and National Institute of Fashion Technology.

She is currently working for the development of art in underprivileged areas in Gujrat. She writes in both English and Gujarati, often focusing on the history and culture of the dwindling Jewish community in India. She is a columnist for the Indian Express and also writes in Gujarati journals. She has a son and daughter and is married to a French architect.

About the Bene Israel community

The Bene Israel, from the Encyclopedia of World Religions at St. Martin's College, UK.

The Jews of India, from the South Asian.

Relations between the Jewish communities in India.

Bibliography

The Book of Esther
Penguin, 2003

When Esther David set out to write a novel that was loosely based on family history, she did not know that uncovering the past would reveal such a treasure trove of stories, or that the process would cut so close to her own life. Her story begins in the nineteenth century, with Bathsheba, as she waits for her husband to return from his long absence at their home in Danda village on the Konkan coast. A woman of great strength of character who disregards convention, she steers the family through difficult times, but is shattered by the combined weight of social ostracism and an aborted pregnancy. Her greatgrandson David inherits her sense of empathy for all things living, besides possessing a remarkable talent for healing. He acquires great respect as a doctor in Ahmedabad, but is unable to rein in his exuberant son Joshua, Esther's father, in whom the ability to heal will be directed towards a series of creatures large and small, among them lions, panthers and crocodiles. Joshua goes on to found a zoo, and the stories of the pets they raise form a heartbreaking accompaniment to the human drama.

At home in India Review in the Hindu. July 2003.

A woman's search for her identity. Review in the Sunday Tribune.

My Family and Other Stories. Review in the Telegraph.



By the Sabarmati
Penguin, 2001

Sawnet Review by Raji Mangat

Making her voice heard. OutlookIndia.

The Walled City


Snapshots: the first Indian Jewish novel. Makarand Paranjpe's review in Outlook.

South Asian Women authors
Sawnet Bookshelf
Sawnet