Teejri and Thadri

I am writing this post on a flight to London. A trip to London during August/September every year has become a regular feature in my professional diary for the last few years; it is something that I look forward to for the unique experience it brings with itself.  Things are slightly different this time as I did not realize that our very own Sindhi festivals of “Teejri” and “Thadri” fall in the same week that I am away. Whilst “Teejri” is essentially a ladies festival, I quite like the vibe that it brings about with itself.  “Thadri” on the other hand, is the festival that I look forward to for the sheer culinary pleasures that it brings with itself – the pleasure of eating home cooked “Lolas”.   The only consolation this time being that I am back on the same day when “Meetha Lolas”  will be served.

Simply put, Teejri is to Sindhis what Karva Chauth is to Punjabis. The festival is observed by women to pray for the long lives of their husbands. It is customary for women to put mehendi (“Heena”) on their hands a day before the festival and I am generally forced to by my sister to take both of them to the “mehendiwala” who is in great demand on that day and waiting times can often be more than an hour. What else can one do but be patient! (Difficult to win against your sister, isn’t it!)  I have grown up seeing my mother (and other ladies in the family) waking up around four o’clock in the morning next day to have the only meal that she will have till she sees “Chandr” (Moon) in the evening, which usually is “Koki” (Regular readers are no doubt familiar with my love for Koki which I have outlined in previous posts).  There is then Pooja at our Sindhu Samaj in the evening which is bustling with activity. Once the Pooja is over and mummy is back that the task of keeping an eye on the moon begins. Ladies break their fast once they see the moon and you will find people waiting anxiously to see the moon. There is such a pleasure in “gazing at the stars” which we often miss and that occasions like these remind us of. 

Thadri on the other hand, as I said is a festival of sheer culinary delight. It is celebrated to worship “Sheetla Mata” and hence nothing warm/hot is eaten on that day. A day before the festivals, “Lolas” (Thick Breads) are cooked which are consumed the next day. I especially like the ones with jaggery in them that one eats with salted butter and Raita. Make no mistake, cooking Lolas is no easy task and it usually takes around 3-4 hours to prepare them. Then my mother does a small Pooja followed by sprinkling of water in the entire home which symbolizes purification of the house.

Both these festivals remind me about our unique cultural heritage and the memories associated with these festivals never fail to bring a smile.

I end with this wonderful half an hour talk show that was recently aired on radio Radio voice of Sindh, UK about the various Hindu (Sindhi) festivals during  the auspicious month of "Sawan". As the program is in “Nij” Sindhi, I too found it slightly difficult to understand each and every word (No one else but me to blame for not learning Sindhi !) but I found it extremely informative.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYweYa6nixw&t=1691s

Jeay Sindhi and Sindhiyat !

Bhai Pratap

I spent the last weekend reading a tribute written by Ms. Saaz Aggarwal for Bhai Pratap (Late Pratap Dialdas Nanwani) – an unsung hero in our community; a gentleman whose dedication and devotion towards helping fellow Sindhis , in my opinion, is almost unparalleled.  Dada Pratap played an important role in establishing Sindhi refugee area of Adipur- Kutch which is lovingly known as “Mini-Sindh” today. As Dada Bhaneja writes in his book (about migration) “…… a common denominator was the ruthless uprooting from their native lands and being thrown into a geographical region which had little connection to their culture except for religion. And even there, expressions of religious devotion and rituals turned out to be different than those of their ancestral land.” Dada Pratap helped ease this pain for thousands of fellow Sindh’s .The article goes on to detail various facets of Dada’s personality – his sharp business acumen, his commitment towards social service, his role in India’s Freedom struggle as well as rehabilitating thousands of Hindu Sindhi refugees. 

I first heard about Dada Pratap in one of the episodes of Sindhi Sarvech program on Youtube in which one of the guest referred to Dada’s contribution in helping rehabilitate Sindhis in the area of Adipur-Kutch and his vision about developing it as India’s “Sindh”.  The mention of Kutch immediately evoked a familiar feeling as my “Maasi” (Mother’s sister) stays in Kutch so have grown up hearing stories of the town. Sindhi Sarvech program is a collection of interviews by Dada Ram Jawahrani (another prominent Sindhi Social worker based in Mumbai) with known Sindhis . I have grown fond of the program as it is purely in Sindhi; thereby giving an opportunity to the listener to hear one’s mother tongue (which is fast disappearing!). It is also very fascinating to hear about how every single guest on the program has dealt with extremely difficult circumstances during the time of partition to emerge victorious. Almost all guests credit this resilience to their Sindhi roots which speaks a great deal about the character of our community.

However, it is unfortunate that such “heroic” efforts of Dada Pratap haven’t received the recognition that they deserve with (largely) only Sindhis in Adipur-Kutch area knowing about him. May Sindhiyat be blessed with more such “Bhai Pratap”(s) for we need them now much more than ever before!

On another note, Sindhi Sangat is a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) involved with promoting Sindhi Language and Sindhi culture.  They are running the 3^rd International Sindhi Nursery Rhymes Competition 2018 aimed at encouraging young children to learn Sindhi rhymes. Details are available on the link below. Please do spread the word and if you have young children in the family, do encourage them to participate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQfODIpOG08

Jeay Sindhiyat!

PS: For the interested reader, link to Ms. Saaz Aggarwal’s article is as follows:
https://www.sahapedia.org/bhai-pratap-tribute-forgotten-hero