Kashi Hallegua House, the main site of the Ishara House project, was built more than 200 years ago in the historic Jewish quarter of Mattancherry, Kochi, Kerala. Once serving the town’s Jewish community, the building has since become a cultural and architectural landmark.

History of Hallegua House

There used to be many Jewish families in Mattanchery long back. Their lineages trace back to the Jewish communities that had migrated to all parts of the world including Kerala, about two thousand years ago. They've been living here ever since. In 1948 when Israel was formed, Jews started returning to their promised land. Some of them stayed back, considering this to be their home.

Juliet Hallegua was one among them. A retired teacher used to live with one of her daughters. But when her friends and relatives left for the new homeland. Her life turned solitary here. She spent many eventless years in the house where generations of her community thrived until finally, she too decided to leave. Nima Hallegua, the daughter who lived in Israel, came by to pick her family. Now, Juliet was leaving the land where she had been born and raised. The grief of departure evident in her eyes and movement as she and her family left for Israel, This home is the primary site for the show.

address:

The Ishara House at the Kashi Hallegua House,

Synagogue Road, Jew town,

Fort Kochi - 682002, India

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