A small town in Thrissur district of Kerala, southern India. Mala had a Jewish synagogue in the center of town, now in ruins. The famous Pambu mekkattu mana (temple) located here attracts thousands of devotees annually. Jewish Cemetery located near the Mala police station used to be a thriving Jewish Community. The Jewish cemetery now is completely a garbage dump. [January 2010]
"Marked as a Jewish cemetery with a clear sign over the entrance gate in English and Malayalam, the site is protected by the townspeople; a framed black sign inside the gate lists the three trustees of the cemetery, from Chennamangalam and Ernakulum, who deeded and handed over the cemetery to the Mala Panchayat on April 1, 1955. There is currently no Jewish community left in Mala. The cemetery is in two sections of land; in the first, there were three tomb stones - two were in the first section of open field, one was partly hidden under a cashew tree. The second section - at least twice as large - lies beyond the first on higher ground that is separated from the first by a stone wall, has no graves or tombstones. A court edict, brought about by petition from the Ernakulum Jewish community, has kept the town from using this spacious part of the cemetery area for a soccer/play field. The cemetery is located in a central residential area of Mala and is flanked on either side by attractive residences." Source: [October 2000]