Being Sindhi (Contd...)

I met a dear friend yesterday after few months. Both of us are quite close, having known each other for the last decade or so. We have a lot in common - both of us are Sindhis,  our families know of each other, have grown up in the same neighborhood and do feel strongly about our ancestry and Sindhiyat. Although over the past few years ago, we meet less ; however the bond still remains as strong as ever. 

I have always known that his family have been ardent follower of Baba Guru Nanak Jee and Guru Granth Sahib ; his paternal grandfather having played an important role in the locality's Gurmandir ("Tikana") and till today still continues to visit the Gurmandir for the weekly service. What I did not know is that for the last many decades, they observe the practice of keeping Guru Granth Sahib at home. My friend tells me that the practice has its origins in the Sindh era as one of his great grandfather post retirement from his job voluntarily took up the role of "pathi". As I have mentioned earlier (in my posts), most Sindhis are Nanakpanthis and the community has historically shared a close relationship with Sikhism.I am told that it was a common practice in Sindh whereby the eldest child was 'gurdinno' or 'Given to the Guru'. I am also told that this was particularly true of "Lalwani" and "Makhijani" families. Pluralism has always been a way of life for the Sindhis. Steven.W. Ramey begins his book " Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond" with the statement : 'A disciple of a Muslim Sufi advised a community of Hindus in Lucknow, India, to install the Guru Granth Sahib , a text central for Sikhs'. 

The family is extremely particular about this practice and has a dedicated room in their house wherein "Kadah Parsad" is served daily. Not only do they have the holy book there but also idols of various dieties as well as family elders. All the yearly collections go to the locality Gurmandir as a contribution towards "langar" served on Guru Nanak Devji's Birthday. I was extremely pleased to know that my friend intends to keep this practice ongoing. It is in acts like these that one sees the undying spirit of Sindh! My best wishes to the family.

I end with the below lines by great Sindhi writer Krishin "Rahi" which I heard for the first time while watching the below video and have remained with me ever since. Youtube link of Dada Ghanshyam Vaswani's wonderful rendition of the same is also given below.

Jeke hite jameya, se bhi Sindhi sadba
Sindhi thi bhi sindh khe disan khoon sikanda

Dhaaryan Vaangya Jadah Sindh Vanjhee Disanda

Allah Manu Kiya Chahunda 

T Sindhi aaya Sindh Disan

(The ones born here (India) will also be called Sindhi

Inspite of being Sindhi, will always yearn for a glimpse of Sindh

The day (when) they will be able to visit Sindh like visitors

Oh Allah! What will people  say

That Sindhis have come to see Sindh)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYFgaLaYN7c

Jai Jhulelal!

KOKI

Its 6 o clock in the evening here and I am writing this post in a jovial mood ; elated by the weather outside as it has just begun to rain . In the midst of hot and humid Delhi summers, rain showers are a welcome respite. Adding to the joy is my mother's standard evening query - Maani mein chaa khayinda (What will you have for Dinner?)? How can it be anything else but Koki in this weather.

If there is one food item that binds almost all Sindhis (like a glue!), it is the community's shared love for Koki and Saibhaaji. Personally, I am a little biased towards Koki! Who cannot like this thick bread made out of wheat flour kneaded with clarified butter (Desi Ghee). There are a number of variants of Koki as some also add chopped onions ("basar") but I like the one without them and with  jeera (Black cumin) and kaali mirch (Pepper) . Koki with salted butter and a cup of hot tea is a meal in itself!. 

A few years ago, I was traveling to Mumbai for work on an IndiGo flight.Normally I have my breakfast before I leave for the airport, but on that day, as it was an early departure, I requested my mother to pack my breakfast, which was my favorite Koki. During the in-flight snack service, upon being asked by the air-hostess about if I would like to buy anything, I politely refused and opened my tiffin box. Little did i realise that the air-hostess was a Sindhi as well, who looking at the tiffin box smiled and said - Another Koki lover!. It proved to be a great conversation starter. Such is our love for Koki!

On another note, I attended the bi-monthly concert organised by Sindhi Academy, Delhi last week. This time one of the singers was young Vineet Satpal, a fellow sindhi trained at the academy who was performing on such a platform for the first time.It is heartening to see young talent being promoted by the academy. The other singer was Saeen Dushyant Ahuja - a master at Sindhi ghazal singing. He sang marvelously.

 I end with the below link of a fast paced musical number that Vineet sang and enthralled the audience. As always, video credits go to Saeen Anil Makhijani.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNAF9ZKEdlk

Jai Jhulelal!

Secularism and Sindhis

The other day I was hearing Dada Ram Jethmalani's (dated) speech at a Sindhi event in Dubai. In his quintessential Sindhi style (which reminds me of my grandfather !) , he spoke about how Secularism is ingrained in Sindhis and that the community is a perfect example of  what it means to have "secular values". He goes on to elaborate about how during his days in Shikarpur (Sindh), Hindu children were presented with gifts and cloths on Eid and Muslim children on Diwali ("Dyaarih" in Sindhi). (For the interested, The link to his speech is given at the end of this post.)

Something similar is echoed by Steven.W. Ramey in his book " Hindu, Sufi, or Sikh: Contested Practices and Identifications of Sindhi Hindus in India and Beyond". In his interactions with various Sindhi Hindus in Lucknow , he mentions about how many respondents, when asked about their religious identity, mentioned that they were "basically Hindu". Ramey states : " The insertion of qualifying terms such as "basically" implies that they are not fully or truly Hindu and reflects the influence of the dominant understandings on Sindhi assertions".

At my home too, we have grown up with  Guru Nanak Baba Ji's picture along with other gods and goddesses in our "small" mandir. In-fact such pluralism is a normal way of life for most Hindu Sindhis. We always called our Dadi (Paternal Grandmother) as "Mummy-Ammi". Recently, at my sister's friend's wedding (also a Hindu Sindhi) the entire wedding was solemnized at the gurudwara according to Sikh rituals. Infact, Guru Nanak Jayanti is a much celebrated occasion in the Hindu Sindhi calendar as most Hindu Sindhis are "Nanakpanthis".

Our places of worship, Gurmandir ("Tikaano" in Sindhi) is actually an amalgamation of Gurudwara and Mandir and (until recently) generally had  a picture of Guru Nanak (and quite often even Guru Granth Sahib) in addition to Hindu gods such as Ram and Krishna. However I am told (unverified) that the new gurudwara legislation does not allow a number of "hybrid" practices which if true, is another testimony to the polarized world that we live in wherein identities have to be looked from a black/white prism ("either/or") rather than acknowledging existence of "grey" ("And") areas as well. Dada Bhaneja makes a mention in his book about his father's "Sufi" Spirit ; something shared by a lot of Sindhis especially the older generation. The much celebrated kalams of Bhagat Kanwarram have largely been written by Muslim sufis/saints. 

I believe it is this spirit of tolerance and adaptability that comes with it that has played an important role in the material success of the community. I hope that as a community we are able to carry forward this sense of inclusiveness which has helped us come this far.

Link to Dada Ram Jethmalani's video :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxDJuRNX8a4

Reinventing Samaj(s).

I have previously written about the important role that Samaj(s) play in the community although its popularity has been facing steady decline over past few years. I consider myself fortunate that I live very close to Rajinder Nagar Sindhu Samaj which is among the oldest and well known Samaj in Delhi, having shifted to its present location from the Janpath Barracks in the early ’60s. As I understand, such community centers came up post partition in order to preserve Sindhi culture, language and tradition. 

Today, most Samaj's have turned into (largely) places of religious interaction and Jhule Lal worship along with running matrimonial services for the community. Whilst both these are important aspects and should be promoted, I think the larger community interactions that Samaj should promote has been ignored. This has over the decades led to minimal interaction between  younger Sindhis and as a result we now have an entire new generation which is largely unaware of their roots and identifies little with "being Sindhi" (other than the surnames!)

I have the following suggestions to offer in this regard:-

1. All Samaj's should ensure that they run classes to teach written "Sindhi" language. The emphasis here should not just me on teaching the language in isolation but instead should be to showcase to the students a glimpse of  Sindhiyat. Whilst teaching the language should be the primary aim , however in every class, there should be some time for general discussion on various aspects which may be of interest to younger generation such as a our ancestory, various Sindhi festivals, some insight into the works of Shah, Sachal and Sami etc.

The importance here is on delivery as a lecture format is unlikely to work. I must mention here about the wonderful work being done by Dadi Asha Chand of "Sindhi Sangat" (NGO) who have developed a number of Information Technology tools/apps/videos in this regard and are always eager to assist in using these.

2.  At regular intervals, Samaj should invite eminent local Sindhis to talk about topics of contemporary interest. The medium of the talk should not necessarily be Sindhi but could be local dialect (depending upon the location). The central idea being to encourage young Sindhis to start getting connected to their roots. Again, videoconferencing is an extremely efficient (and cost effective) way of getting distinguished Sindhis to interact with Sindhis living elsewhere. I rarely see lectures/discussions happening in Samaj's these days.

3. Samaj's should also introspect and see how they can involve more youngsters in their day to day affairs. They could perhaps ask a group of volunteers to perhaps assist them with automating some of their processes or helping create a web-site etc.
 
I end with the below video clipping of Dada J P Vaswani where he emphasizes the importance of preserving sindhi language - I found it to be a good watch and hence sharing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujCJ99A4zsU&t=116s

Cheti Chand Celebrations

The festival of Cheti Chand (Sindhi New Year) is celebrated on the first day of  Chet (Chaitra) month every year. The festival also marks the birth of "Uderolal" also popularly known as "Jhule Lal". It is celebrated with great zeal by Hindu Sindhis across the world.

I have been fortunate enough to attend two Cheti Chand celebrations this year - one that is carried out by our local Sindhi Panchayat wherein a "Behraana" procession is carried out which travels throughout the colony before ending at "Sindhu Samaj" where a small program is arranged followed by langar prasad. It is perhaps the only time in the year that I get to hear the traditional "Shehnai" being played. Throughout the procession, various families offer prasad to the accompanying members.

Yesterday, I also attended for the first time  Cheti Chand Mela in Punjabi Bagh that is organised by Sindhi Jagriti Sabha for the last 43 years. I was quite awestruck by the sheer scale of the event (had never anticipated that it would be at such a massive scale!). It reminded me of the numerous Diwali Melas that I had attended in my neighborhood. My sister and me also saw the various Sindhi performances that had been organized including one by Dada Mangharam and Dadi Jamuna from Ajmer and by "Rockstar" Vipin Shewani from Mumbai. All the performances were quite enjoyable and I am glad that Sindhi music still evokes a decent level of interest from the community.

I had recently came across this wonderful article on Cheti Chand by Ms. Zahida Rehman Jatt in Dawn newspaper (Pakistan). I strongly suggest this as a 'must read". Do not also forget to see the video link capturing the wonderful dancing by the devotees:

https://www.dawn.com/news/1318886

Jeay Sindhiyat!

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