Teri ichha puran ho
Sukh mein Dukh mein mere pritam,
teri ichha puran ho!
( Thou knowest all, Beloved,
Let Thy Will always be done!
In joy and sorrow, Beloved,
May Thy Will always be done!)
Let Thy Will always be done!
In joy and sorrow, Beloved,
May Thy Will always be done!)
- The Seven Commandments of Bhagavad Gita by (Dada) J.P.Vaswani
Today is yet another momentous day in Sindhi Chokro's journey as we complete four years of existence. What a journey it has been! I still vividly remember that visit to Sindhu Samaj with mummy to fill up the matrimonial service form for a cousin who was looking for a match. The form ( amongst other things ) had the question " Place of Origin in Sindh" which we filled up as " Sahiti". This simple question sparked my interest in knowing more about my roots and since then there has been no looking back. The limitation of not being able to read and write in Arabic Sindhi has meant that a majority of literature , history and culture is inaccessible to most of us. This is when I first thought about starting the blog. The idea was to present to the readers my day to day experiences of growing up in a Sindhi family and neighborhood along with writing about contemporary issues facing the community in a language which is understood by most of us.
Over the past years, during my interactions with Sindhis from different walks of life, I have realized that as a community we are reluctant ( and dare I say embarrassed) to talk about our cultural identity. In India at-least, I often hear " we are same as Punjabis" as a convenient means to cut short a conversation about our identity. This startles me as if there is one community who have established themselves from scratch like a phoenix from the ashes in Independent India it is us Sindhis. Without any physical land/ state having been allocated to us, totaling a few million in numbers with no government based reservation/affirmative action support among other things , we have still been able to establish ourselves as one of the most successful communities in India. This remarkable story of having survived all odds with sheer grit and determination whilst should have been a part of mainstream narrative unfortunately does not even generally find a mention on the sides. Years of having being physically scattered and being busy in making ends meet though have led us to establish ourselves economically, it seems to have taken away that feeling of oneness and brotherhood that keeps a community together. Our language and culture have in the process probably suffered an irrecoverable damage. As Dada Vaswani very aptly mentions in one of his satsangs " Asaan sindhiyun mein budhi aa, badhi kaane" ( We Sindhis have intelligence but lack togetherness).
However, reversing this tide is not that difficult. We are now an economically well off community and hence unlike the partition times are in a better position to assist our brethren. But this task cannot be accomplished by the services of few. Each and every one of us will have to contribute if Sindhi boli and culture is to be preserved.
I am grateful to my dear readers for your continued support. If this blog encourages few of you to discuss about Sindhi identity and culture as an occasional dinner time conversation with your families, I think Sindhi Chokro will have achieved its purpose.
I end with this recent clip of an impromptu rendition of " Haan maan Sindhi aayan" song sung by young Sindhi singers who are ably carrying on the mantle of preserving and promoting Sindhi identity. Videos such as these give me hope that perhaps all is not lost and with some determination and a little effort from our end, maybe we can keep Sindhiyat alive!
