Radio Sindhi

Ever since I was first came to know about Radio Sindhi, I have been a regular listener. Radio Sindhi is a web based Sindhi radio channel run by a Mumbai based company. Originally it had four web stations which have now expanded to seven. In fact, the first time that I heard the radio, I found it so interesting that i downloaded their app from the google play store and listen to it every now and then. Whenever i travel (which is quite frequent these days) , i do switch it on the first thing in the morning. I find traveling alone quite lonely at times as being an early riser , i do not really have much to do in the mornings and Radio Sindhi is a worthy companion at that time of the day. I find listening to people speaking in Sindhi very comforting and joyful. Every time, I hear Dada Gope Chander and his daughter, Smt. Aarti singing the famous " Damadam Mast Kalander" on Radio Sindhi, my happiness knows no bounds. 

I believe that Radio Sindhi is an excellent medium to connect our displaced Sindhi diaspora. I am happy to see it growing over the past few years due to the relentless efforts of the channel owner as well as a number of large hearted sindhis who have made financial contribution to the channel. It is important that such initiatives are appreciated by the community so that they can continue to grow in the years to come. 

Another one of my favorite songs is " Ho Jamalo" especially Abida jee's rendition that i hear quite often on Youtube. As I understand, this song was popularised in 1950's/60s by Abida jee and other singers in Pakistan. This song celebrates the courage of Jamalo Khoso Baloch .Wikipedia States:- (edited)

Jamalo Khoso Baloch was sentenced to execution by hanging, by British East India Company officer John Jacob  in Sukkur, probably in 1856. Jamalo (as he is conventionally called) was held in jail near the Sukkur Bridge, which had recently been built for trains by the English, but was untested. The government of Sindh announced that whoever test-drove a train across the bridge would be given a prize. Jamalo sent a letter to Jacob, offering to perform the train crossing, on the condition that he be released from jail and his sentence if he crossed safely. He did cross safely, was freed, and was given a prize by the East India Company's governor of Sindh. His wife composed the "Ho Jamalo" song about his exploit, and it has since become famous in the region.

I hope that initiatives like Radio Sindhi  will continue in the future as well.

Jiye Sindhiyat!

PS : For the interested, Radio Sindhi website is : www.radiosindhi.com.

Lachchmandas Pohumal Khemani

Shivratri has always been an important day in our home. Like most sindhis, my mother too is a follower of Lord Shiva. Generally speaking, we aren’t a very religious family as my father has always emphasized the importance of good deeds (“Sarbaht ka bhala”) over plain rituals. I have always found this aspect of being Sindhi as quite unique to us – whilst the sindhis who have crossed over to India during Partition were mainly Hindus, however I do find that our religious practices do have influences from other religions as well. As an example, during Diwali Puja at my home, not only will we have idols of various Hindu gods and goddesses but also of Guru Nanak Dev Ji as well. Not many are aware, that most sindhis are “Nanakpanthis.” Guru Nanak Jayanthi is an important day in the Sindhi calendar and is celebrated with great joy in the community. This flexible approach to religion, to me, is reminiscent of the great “Sufi” culture of Sindh wherein there was religious tolerance and being “human” was valued much more than anything else. 

A lot of my Punjabi friends find it a little odd about me not having non-vegetarian food on Mondays. Being a Shiv bhakt, my mother doesn’t encourage us eating non-vegetarian food on Monday. Of-course, like most other things, this too is now changing and the strict noes are being replaced by “preferably not”. I have grown up hearing how my (now) deceased maternal grandfather (“Nana”) used to attend the Shivratri Jagran at a mandir in Chandni Chowk along with his dear friend from Multan, Mr. Mony. He used to leave home at 7.30/8 in the evening, a day before Shivratri, used to attend the jagraan the entire night and come back by around 5.30-6 in the morning. Immediately after coming, he used to enter the kitchen and start preparing the “prasad” which was usually “Koki” (Sindhi Bread) and “Green Moong” (dry lentil). After this he used to leave for work, fasting the entire day and ended the day with just fruits and prasad in the evening.

Unfortunately, my grandfather expired when I was quite young (barely six years old) and hence I have little memories of him. He was always dressed in a white kurta pyjama and was a man of few words. I do distinctly remember that a couple of hours before he died, he spoke to my mother on the phone (and I think with all his other children as well) and told them that the end was now near and blessed each one of us. Most of my knowledge of him has been through my mother and the various anecdotes that she narrates every now and then.

I remember him and my beloved naani on every Shivratri  (Late Smt Meera and Late Shri Lachchmandas Pohumal Khemani from Kandiaro (Nawabshah), Sindh).

I pray to almighty that their soul rests in peace.

Om Namah Shivaya

Partition and Sindhis

The other day I was speaking to a Sikh friend of mine about how partition changed the entire course of thousands of families within a matter of days. Like many others, mine is also a refugee family, my grandfather having migrated from District Nawabshah, Sindh, in 1947.  Whilst the stories of families that have migrated from erstwhile unified Punjab are far more tragic than those of families that migrated from Sindh,(given that there was much more bloodshed in Punjab than Sindh) nonetheless Punjabis and Sindhis have much in common to share about the partition. The underlying theme remains largely similar - wealthy families who had to within a matter of days or in some cases even hours decide on questions that undoubtedly altered the course not just of the present members but also of generations to come i.e. leaving their homeland and move to a largely unknown place in the hope of providing safety and security to their near and dear ones; leaving behind all that they called their "own"and start lives afresh literally from scratch.

 As Dada Bhaneja asks in his book (Troubled Pilgrimage) - "What makes us stay or leave our homeland foreover" ; a seemingly innocuous question unfortunately to which  there are no simple answers.

However, in one way, I believe Punjabis have been slightly luckier than us (Sindhis) as they have a land that they can call their own.(as Punjab was divided between India and Pakistan) which has helped keep "Punjabiyat" alive.It is not as if I am unhappy with the way Hindu Sindhis have been treated here in India, in fact, I shall always remain grateful to this motherland (India) for it has cared and nurtured us (Sindhis) only like a mother can ; just that i am sad that it was only Sindh (of all the regions)  that wan't divided between India and Pakistan and went "in toto" to Pakistan ; thereby denying Hindu Sindhis a piece of land which they could call their own.

On the positive side, Hindu Sindhis are perhaps one of the few communities that are spread not just throughout India but across the world and are truly "Global Citizens". I was surprised to hear that internet based Sindhi Radio Channel - Radio Sindhi is heard in more than 100 countries across the globe which i think is remarkable for a community that is just 6-8 million people strong (rough estimates). I hope that we are able to retain our Sindhiyat as well so that our future generations too can experience this wonderful 2000+ years old culture.

I end with a couple of lines from Saeen Juman Darbadar's  poem that is regarded as Sindhi nationalism’s anthem (in Pakistan): 

“Wathi har har janam warbo, mitha Mehran mein milbo 

 (We will be born again and again until, my sweetheart, we meet in our own land of Mehran)”

 PS: Sindh province is also referred to as Mehran locally and hence the reference.