"This is the first book describing the roles of Western Jews in South Asian political affairs, medicine, painting, architecture and religion. A time-line summarizes their contributions and those of the Indian Jews to the Indian subcontinent. Many of these foreign Jews left behind their Jewish identities. Others remained Jews, but functioned as individuals unconcerned with implementing any 'Jewish agenda'." --

- Chronicles the substantial role played by Jews in the shaping and development of contemporary Indian art and aesthetics- Contains images of lost paintings of Fyzee Rahamin and Magda Nachman, and other never-before-seen paintings- Written in an unbiased manner and supported with in-depth research, the book will be invaluable to anyone who wishes to understand contemporary Indian artThis volume reveals the roles of foreign and Indian Jews in the Indian national art project and raises issues such as: Is an Indian artist any artist born into an Indian family? What role can foreigners and members of Indian minority groups play in the Indian National Art Project as scholars, critics, or artists? Is a piece of work Indian art because of its subject matter or its style? Is it possible to utilize foreign techniques in creating Indian art?Jews and the Indian National Art Project documents the work of artists such as Anna Molka Ahmed, Mirra Alfassa (The Mother), Siona Benjamin, Carmel Berkson, and Fredda Brilliant as well as those of photographers (David Mordecai and Man Ray) and architects (Otto Königsberger, Moshe Safdie). Also covered in this volume are the work of critics, scholars and art patrons like Ernst Cohn-Wiener, Charles Fabri, Stella Kramrisch, and Marion Harry Spielmann.