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| Picture Credit - Sindhi Academy website, Govt. of NCT Delhi |
I spent a lovely evening last Saturday listening to Saeen Rajan Jhangiani and the young Neal Talreja singing melodious Sindhi songs at an event organized at Little Theatre Group (LTG) Auditorium by Sindhi Academy, Delhi. The Academy was set up by Government of Delhi in 1994 to promote Sindhi language,culture, music, literature etc. For the past few years, the academy organizes a bi-monthly Sindhi music concert at which various Sindhi singers from Delhi and outside are invited to perform. The concert is open to all and there are no admission charges.
Saeen Rajan is a local Delhi resident and I have heard him performing at the neighborhood Sindhu Samaj and at Swami Dharamdas Darbar in Lajpat Nagar a number of times. I am told that Saeen Rajan's mother was also an extremely talented singer and both his parents have spent a major part of their lives in serving/ promoting Sindhiyat. Whilst I have always enjoyed his singing, his voice somehow seemed to sound much better in a formal setting with proper acoustics etc. In addition, Saeen sang a number of kalams which I had not heard before and craftily moved from Haqeeqi Ishq (Love of God) to Haqeeqati Ishq (Real Life Love). One of the kalams he sang was on Sindh written by Zulfiqar Manjhi titled " Sindh Sunjanapaye aahe Sik Ji" ( Sindh's Identity stems from yearning/belonging. Thanks Sunila for helping me translate this!). Whilst I do not remember the exact lyrics but listening to the kalam, I couldn't help but think about the complex multi layered relationship that we Hindu Sindhis staying in India share with Sindh? On one hand is the geopolitical reality of India and Pakistan having an adversarial relationship ever since the countries became independent whereas on the other hand is the lovely folklore about the wonderful, sufi ,(then) secular homeland where most of us originate from that one has heard about while growing up. Saeen Rajan's enthusiastic rendition seemed to remind the audience about an era gone by!
The second performer was Neal Talreja. I first heard about Neal from an acquaintance when he was visiting Indore to sing at the local Sadhu Vaswani Centre an year or so ago. Neal is an energetic performer who kept the audience fully engaged. He sang a wide variety of songs, starting with his version of " Muhinjo Daru Dawa Tuhinjo Deedar aa" to Pere Pavendesaan to a number of Master Chander classics. There was a little bit in it for everyone. At a young age of 28, Neal has achieved a lot. He is a regular singer at Sadhu Vaswani Mission and has performed a number of times in front of Dada J P Vaswani. His enthusiasm ensured that most of the audience was right below the podium dancing to the foot tapping music being played by his band. Seeing Neal and his enthusiasm towards promoting Sindhiyat gives me a hope that perhaps all is not lost, yet!.
I think overall it was an evening well spent and I look forward to more such delightful evenings in the coming future.
Saeen Rajan Jhangiani's link as follows. Zulfiqar Manjhi's written song begins at 23 minutes and 35 seconds.
The second performer was Neal Talreja. I first heard about Neal from an acquaintance when he was visiting Indore to sing at the local Sadhu Vaswani Centre an year or so ago. Neal is an energetic performer who kept the audience fully engaged. He sang a wide variety of songs, starting with his version of " Muhinjo Daru Dawa Tuhinjo Deedar aa" to Pere Pavendesaan to a number of Master Chander classics. There was a little bit in it for everyone. At a young age of 28, Neal has achieved a lot. He is a regular singer at Sadhu Vaswani Mission and has performed a number of times in front of Dada J P Vaswani. His enthusiasm ensured that most of the audience was right below the podium dancing to the foot tapping music being played by his band. Seeing Neal and his enthusiasm towards promoting Sindhiyat gives me a hope that perhaps all is not lost, yet!.
I think overall it was an evening well spent and I look forward to more such delightful evenings in the coming future.
Saeen Rajan Jhangiani's link as follows. Zulfiqar Manjhi's written song begins at 23 minutes and 35 seconds.
Link to Neal Talreja's performance is as follows
Jiye Sindhiyat
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