Recently a dear friend's grandfather passed away. Dada Massand was in his early 90's with ancestral origins in Shikarpur, Sindh, who like many other Sindhis of his generation was a follower of Gurubaba Nanak Dev and Guru Granth Sahib, religiously attending the Sunday Morning Kirtan at Rajinder Nagar Sindhi "Tikano" and practicing Guru Baba's teachings both in letter and spirit."Sarbat Ka Bhala" (Welfare of All) is the philosophy that Dada Sahib lived by.
As many of you will be aware, the word " Masand" is an adaptation of Farsi word "Masanad" which essentially refers to a seat lower than that of the throne. The Guru was the highest authority followed by Masand who were emplaced to spread the message of Sikhism. It is not clear as to under which Guru did the Masand system start - some believe this to be under Guru Amar Das , some Guru Ram Das whilst others believe this to be under Guru Arjan. In the Sindhi world , Masand families have typically been associated with spreading the teachings of Guru Granth Sahib and also act as the readers (Pathi) in local Sindhi Gurudwaras - "Tikano". In fact, such has been the closeness of Sindhis with Sikhism that it is not uncommon to find Sindhis being associated with either establishment or running of a number of Gurudwaras not just in India but across the globe.The below extract from the book " Singapore's Early Sikh Pioneers" by Rishpal Singh Sindhu beautifully captures this closeness. I quote some relevant extracts :-
".................
The increase in the civilian Sikh population in Singapore was the ‘push factor’ in the establishment of the Central Sikh Temple in 1912 in a single storey brick bungalow at 175 Queen Street. Sindhi merchant Wassiamul Assomul, a leading partner of Wassiamul Assomul & Company with a large shop in High Street generously donated funds for the purchase of this bungalow from one Haji Beedin at a cost of $6,500. In his research, Retired Justice Choor Singh sighted the original title deed and affirmed it was purchased by merchant Dholoomal Nanoomall Assomull, Sergeant-Major Punjab Singh and Corporal Ganda Singh of the Singapore Police Force as joint tenants for use as a Gurdwara.
........... The sangat is well represented on the gurdwara’s
management committee with Sindhis and Sahejdhari Sikhs holding important positions. The congregation attracts
many Punjabi Hindus and Sindhis who are staunch
believers of the Sri Guru Granth Sahib."
To quote another example of this wonderful yet layered relationship between Hindu Sindhis and Sikhism which to many may seem strange (as mentioned in the article below) as it does not fit into the silos based religious identity which we all are so used to these days, is an extract from a 2012 article titled " Half Mandir and Half Gurudwara" : Three Local Hindu Communities in Manila, Jakarta and Cologne by Manfred Hutter published in JSTOR. I quote a relevant paragraph which will hopefully provide an insight into this multi dimensional relationship :-
........ Nowadays the religious centre of Sindhi Hindus is their temple in the Paco district of Manila, which was inagurated on 24th July, 1980 to replace an earlier temple compound which was established in a rented house in 1963 . The establishment of a Hindu temple ( Mandir or Tikana) had become necessary in the late 50s due to a growing dispute among the community about the suitable form of worship as a community with Punjabis and Sindhis who more strongly favored the Khalsa Sikh Tradition. As early as 1932 a Sikh Gurudwara, the Khalsa Diwan, had been established by Sindhi and Punjabis together. The influx of refugees from Northwestern India after Partition not only led to an increase in number of the community, but also brought a greater religious diversity, especially as Punjabi Sikhs began to outnumber Sindhis in Manila. . Besides this statistical reason, Punjabis and SIndhis also began to focus on ethinicity as a main characteristic for their identities. , thus creating a new boundary between the two communities, referring to Khalsa tradition, Punjabis also fell alienated by veneration of Hindu Gods by Sindhi Hindus. As a result, SIndhi Hindus moved out of the Gurudwara to establish their own place of worship, but still keeping a copy of Guru Granth Sahib (the holy book used by them and the Sikhs in worship) and a picture of Guru Nanak within the temple precincts. So the "outsider" at first sight might be inclined to characterize this temple as " half mandir" and "half gurudwara", as a "blend"of a Hindu Temple with Sikh place of worship. But for the "insider" it is neither half the one not half the other, but one whole religious compound expressing religious and ethno-religious identity .
No surprise that Dada Sahib's Pagri Rasam was conducted at Sindhu Samaj by a fellow Hindu Sindhi reciting Gurbani Kirtan coupled with Gayatri Mantra. I pray to Lal Saeen to give peace to the deceased soul.
I end with this wonderful Bhajan by (Late) Didi Bhagwanti Navani titled "Satguru Nanak Shah Muhinji Bedi Paar Lagaenda". This was sung in 1986 at a program in Khandwa, Madhy Pradesh, India. Didi Bhagwanti has such a melodious voice! Thanks to Malhi Cultural Academy for sharing this on youtube. I hope you like it too.
Jai Jhuleal!
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