Jewish community - mainly based in Mumbai - hold onto centuries-old tradition, but their numbers are dwindling fast.

Mumbai, India - Although a sizeable number at its peak, the Jewish population in India has diminished drastically, leaving behind a miniscule minority who are trying to keep their traditions alive.

The first Jews arrived in India more than 2,000 years ago and settled in the southern state of Kerala. Six hundred years later, the Bene Israelis followed, while the Baghdadi Jews arrived in 1730, some of them fleeing religious persecution in the Arab world.

After the formation of Israel in 1948, around 33,000 people emigrated, leaving just 5,000 Jews in India today. The majority of them are Bene Israelis, most of whom live in Mumbai. The city is also host to around 100 Baghdadi Jews.

The community continues to observe Jewish practices and its synagogues serve as a meeting point.

"Very few synagogues survive in this part of the world," conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah told Al Jazeera, "but Bombay has traditionally had a large Jewish population."

The Jewish community has often been applauded for integrating completely with the local population. Most people in the community wear Indian traditional dress, participate in local festivals and speak local languages.

See some of Mumbai's most iconic Jewish buildings and meet the people who make up one of India's smallest religious minorities.

Built in 1796, the Shaar Harahamim or Gate of Mercy is the oldest synagogue in Mumbai.

Many of Mumbai(***)s Jews speak the local language, Marathi. Inside the Gate of Mercy synagogue, signs are written in English, Marathi and Hebrew.

Emanuel Chandgoankar has been looking after the Gate of Mercy for the last nine years. One of his brothers serves in the Israeli army.

Founded in 1884, the Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue is one of two Baghdadi Jewish synagogues in Mumbai. Funded by the Sassoons, a prominent Jewish family of entrepreneurs and philanthropists, it was built in the classical revival style with a double height prayer hall. According to experts, it has some of the finest stained glass in all of Mumbai.

More than a hundred years of monsoons have gravely affected the structure of the synagogue. The roof, ceilings and walls are damaged, some areas of the floors are sinking and parts of the Victorian stain glass window need replaced. A section of the prayer hall(***)s floor has already collapsed due to leaks, causing rubble to fall into the mikwah, a religious bath and the holiest part of the synagogue.

A dwindling population means that the trust is unable to raise funds needed to carry out urgent repair work. The chairman of the trust, Solomon Sopher, left, says he cannot force the few people left in his community to contribute to the project, so he is seeking help from Jews abroad.

All synagogues in Mumbai have round-the-clock police protection after a Jewish centre was attacked by Pakistani gunmen in November 2008.

Ralphy and Yael Jhirad have been conducting tours of Jewish heritage sites for the last thirty years. They have a strong connection to Israel despite being born and raised in India. "India is my motherland and Israel is my father(***)s land, or my forefathers(***) land,"

The Beth El Synagogue in Panvel, Navi Mumbai was founded in 1849.

Moses Jacob Korlekar is a retired civil servant. He recites prayers for the community when a rabbi is not available. There are around 60 people in the synagogue(***)s congregation with 20 to 25 families visiting regularly for prayer services.

The Jewish community celebrating the first day of Shavout at the Bet El Synagogue in Mumbai.

Conservation architects say that preserving Jewish heritage is essential to the community(***)s legacy in Mumbai.

The Panvel Jews descend from the Bene-Israelis who are thought to have become stranded in India after a shipwreck more than 2,000 years ago.

Many in the community say it(***)s important to hold onto traditions to pass them onto the next generation.

Although the Jewish population in Mumbai is small, it is still a vibrant community.

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