Apart from the time-honored rituals of children and adventurous adults screaming and stomping their feet to scare away the evil Haman during readings from the ‘Megillah,’ the congregation will witness a slice of Marathi Jewish history at sundown this Thursday if synagogues in the city are allowed their two-day Purim celebrations — a festival commemorating the salvation of Jews in the Persian Empire — the congregation will witness a slice of Marathi Jewish history at sundown
Hannah and Shosannah Kolet, octogenarian sisters from Neral, are crossing their fingers for a lockdown exemption so they can perform ‘Esther Ranichi Katha’ — the story of Queen Esther who saved the Jews — in Marathi verses and ovi meters interspersed with Hebrew words featuring biblical figures and sung to Hindu temple tunes accompanied by dholak and cymb.
