Rachel Jacobs, who is she? The question consumes Sadia Shepard from the minute she uncovers the name-inscribed pin in her grandmother Rahat’s wardrobe. Years ago, Rachel changed her name to Rahat, lived as a Muslim in Pakistan, and buried her ancestry as a member of the Bene Israel, a fast diminishing minority of Indian Jews, for the love of her husband. What was her grandmother’s past lifelike, and where did she leave this culture? Sadia Shepard’s serious and sensitive story of her search for her grandmother’s religious and cultural identity, and through that, the journey toward her own, is inspired by these two themes.
Shepard’s journey takes her beyond the dilapidated synagogues and small towns of Jewish India and into the homes and lives of the individuals she encounters while studying Bene Israel on a Fulbright Scholarship. The Girl from Foreign is a love letter to India, with all of its vivid hues and vibrant energy, as well as to its friendly and eccentric individuals, from the Bene Israel community, which welcomes Shepard with open arms, to her wonderfully weird servant Julie.
