Shalome came to India from Syria in 1792. He was an astute businessman, and once he started his business in India, his work took him to many parts of the country. He wrote all about it in his diary. Now, some 240 years later, his descendant Jael Silliman weaves a great-fun story based on this diary, where Shalome’s adventures are narrated by his little monkey friend, Chanchal.
And what a colourful story it is, of royal elephants, silks, diamonds, and lots and lots of mouthwatering delicacies! Chanchal describes how she meets Shalome in Gujarat and then accompanies him to Calcutta, a city that was surrounded by jungles at the time. They spend a year in the nawab’s palace in Lucknow and meet the royal elephants there, and visit Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Punjab to see the Kohinoor!
Funny, heartfelt, and filled with insights into Jewish life, Shalome Rides a Royal Elephant is not just the story of Shalome and Chanchal, but also about the great melting pot that is India where different communities and religions have lived in harmony over the ages.