Even though the Jewish population in Mumbai has declined dramatically over the past several decades -- from a peak of 30,000 in the late 1940s to some 3,500 today -- it is still the largest Jewish community in India. But for decades there was only one person in Mumbai, and the entire state of Maharashtra of which Mumbai is a part, who engraved Jewish tombstones: a devout Muslim named Muhammad Abdul Yassin. On a recent visit, I found Yassin sitting in his cement hut on the southern end of Mumbai's Jewish cemetery, surrounded by smooth marble and granite slabs -- soon to be used for headstones -- and the tools of his trade, hammers and chisels of various sizes. He has come here every day except Friday, the Muslim special day of prayer, for more than 40 years, rain or shine.
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