Losing Home, Finding Home

 By Saaz Aggarwal

Losing Home, Finding Home is a collection of personal narratives which provide a spectrum of the Sindhi Partition experience. It’s the culmination of my ten years of interviews with Partition survivors, and I picked out the incidents and feelings which I feel form a representative experience of the community. I wanted readers of the book (especially young readers of the book!) to understand the various common experiences that people went through: an insight into life in Sindh before Partition, what took place during Partition, and the story of the heroic rebuilding of lives after.

I got the idea to do this as a book to be passed on to future generations as a compact retelling of the important aspects of the larger story, and containing all the messages that I want to pass on. These include the precious heritage of resilience and creativity; the respect for all beings and different ways of thinking; the philosophy of divinity which transcends petty ritual; and a basic understanding of the historical origins of the community.

Since reading habits are changing, I made the book as short and simple as possible and have included a large number of striking, evocative images. There are illustrations drawn for the book by a highly skilled artist, Subhodeep Mukherjee. They are historically authentic depictions of scenes that we have no photographs of. For example, in the picture on page 23, you can see the Mulund barracks on the right. The audience consists of the Sindhi ‘refugees’, inhabitants of the camp, people who have lost everything. There on the stage is the redoubtable Ram Panjwani, happily beating rhythm on his matka as he did so often, with a group of traditional musicians beside him! On the left flows the River Ulhas.

The story on page 22 alongside tells us a little about who Ram Panjwani was and how he developed Jhulelal as the icon to bind together the dispersed Sindhi community. And the illustration also shows Jhulelal rising up from the river as Dada Ram Panjwani sings!

The dance poses are derived from paintings of Menghraj Talreja and Dewan Bhojwani. Some scenes from the 1974 Films Division documentary Glimpses of Sindhi Culture were also used as references for this and other images in the book.

Losing Home, Finding Home also has some of the vintage photographs picked out from the collections people I’ve interviewed have given me. One of my reasons for wanting to display photographs of the clothes people wore in Sindh is the response to something a very nice, intelligent young woman once argued with me about:

“But in Sindh women wore salwar khameez! Of course they did. I read that on the internet.” 

Well – here’s what people actually did wear.

Then came the presentation of the stories. I started off by writing each one in the voice of the person whose story it was, which is the way I usually do it. But then, after some time, I felt like inserting my opinions too! So I shifted to the third person. However, and quite unexpectedly, my mother’s voice kept intervening. As I wrote, she was prompting me with snippets and her insights. It was uncanny. But I have long realized that our parents remain inside us long after they are gone. I felt it was only right to surrender to her frequent reminders and comments and let her tell the story. And thus, many things emerged which may not have otherwise occurred to me to include.

As the book started taking shape, it was time to start thinking about its title! As always, with every book I’ve written, the words swirl around for some days and then gradually begin settling into place. I felt satisfied that “Losing Home, Finding Home” said a lot and also had a good ring to it. However, I did not want to give the impression that after home was lost, it was found very easily just lying around! But then the back text, and of course the stories themselves, took care of that.

For me, this book has been an opportunity to communicate an important story which was ignored for decades, to future generations. It is partly an art book, partly a history book, partly a book of memories and nostalgia – but also very much an inspiring book about how to face loss and bad times, working with creative enterprise and moving on without any trace of self-pity.

For more information on Saaz Aggarwal and the release of the book Losing Home Finding Home please go to: www.saazaggarwal.com

Guess the names of these typical Sindhi Dishes and send your answers to Info@SindhiSamachaar.com for a shout out in our next issue.

Congratulations to our very own Renu Gidoomal from London!

08 November 2022 was a historic day when, for the first time, a Traditional Bhajan to Lord Jhulelal Saeen was sung in Sindhi at the oldest parliament in the world at the House of Lords, London. 

This honour fell to UK's "Sindhi Nightingale", Renu Gidoomal. She had the double opportunity to sing and speak her tribute for HM Queen Elizabeth II, and was also felicitated with the prestigious "Kala Samaan" award from the Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence and the Lodha Foundation.

Renu sang the refrain and third verse of the well-known bhajan: Muhinji Bedi Athaiy in Sindhi, with the reading of its meaning in English.

Muhinji Beri Athaiy Vich Seer Tay,
Palau Paya Thi Ma Jind Peer Tay!
Ranjhan Chavay Eeha Aasha Muhinji;
Himat Dey Karia Sheva Tuhinji:
Haarnay Naahay Bharoso Shareer Tay
Palau Paya Thi Ma Jind Peer Tay!

In midst Ocean is caught my little Boat.
Oh Lord Jhulelal! I bow down to Thee to keep me safe.
Although I (Ranjhan) cannot trust this frail and temporal body,
Yet my hopeful prayer i beseech thee

Is grant me the courage to serve You till the end of my days!

Her heartfelt singing echoed through the historic atmosphere of Meeting Room 1 with its ancient tapestries and oakwood panelling.

Here is Renu's tribute offered in English and in Sindhi for her late Majesty: 

Our sincerest gratitude to Her Majesty for a lifetime of dedication, humility and service. She will always rule in our hearts as Queen Elizabeth the Great!

Assanjha lakha lakha shukarana asaanji pyaari Rani laye.

Hunaji nishtha, vinamrata, mehennata ain  seva ja aseen abhaari aayoon.
Assanji Rani sadayeen asaanje dil te raaj kandi.

Renu Gidoomal happily holding the "Kala Samman" award from Mrs Ragasudha, founder of the esteemed Sanskruti Centre for Cultural Excellence. Renu was honoured for her immense contribution as a Sindhi Vocalist and Musician to preserving and fostering Sindhi culture.

An OBE for Mohan Mansigani

By Umesh Daswani

Mohan Mansigani from north London was recognised with an OBE for charitable services to healthcare in Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s 2021 birthday honours list. An OBE is Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. It was awarded by HRH Princess Anne, who is the Commandant-in-Chief (Youth) of St John Ambulance charity, during an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on November 30, 2022.

Mohan is a trustee of St John Ambulance which is a modern and dynamic charity. They provide first aid and first aid training, with volunteers at the heart of their work within various communities to preserve and protect life.

 “I have been lucky enough to give something back to the country that has given me so much through my work at St John and the Migration Museum,” said Mohan, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants who joined St John Ambulance’s board six years ago.

 “As the son of Sindhi immigrants and as a boy from Islington, being honoured in this way is beyond my wildest dreams. I would like to dedicate this award to my wife Renu Mansigani who has selflessly taught young children human values over the last 20 years through the Mill Hill Sai Centre and is truly worthy of recognition.”

“My father came to London in 1951 with the aim of supporting his family back in India, thinking that he would return as soon as he achieved this goal,” Mohan added.  “In the event he stayed and, from humble beginnings, built a successful business and raised a young family.

“I was proud to be the first in my family to go to university and went on to qualify as a chartered accountant. From there I had a career as finance director of several restaurant chains including Costa Coffee and Cafe Rouge.”

Mohan is a commercial and creative finance director with extensive private equity experience who has played a key leadership role in establishing The Big Table Group (previously known as Tragus), which operated brands such as Café Rouge and Bella Italia, as a major UK restaurant business. He also led the business through two private equity transactions including the £267m sale to Blackstone in 2007. Prior to this he was CFO at Costa Coffee and TGI Friday’s.  Following the successful sale of his last business, Mohan has been able to work with not-for-profit groups and he has been finance trustee at St John Ambulance since July 2016. Mohan is also chairman of the rapidly growing Bob & Berts chain of cafes.

Mohan’s expertise was critical when St John Ambulance’s main sources of income were halted by the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020. Mohan played a key role in securing funding to main St John’s financial viability and enable the charity’s teams – including almost 30,000 new vaccination volunteers – to support the NHS and local communities by delivering more than 1.6 million hours of activity.

“Looking back, it seems surreal to think what happened and how we got through it both personally and as an organisation,” said Mohan. “True credit must go to the St John volunteers who at a time when many were scared to leave their homes went out and provided vaccinations across the country.”

Watch the video of Canadian Parliament Member Jeremy Peters' speech in the House of Commons about Sindhi language.

"Today I stand up in this house to recognize the Sindhi language. A small country indeed, but Canada can take important steps to make the Sindhi language safe abroad"

SNOWFALL

By Ravi Shankar

Particulate as ash, new year's first snow falls

Upon peaked roofs, car hoods, undulant hills,

In imitation of motion that moves the way

Static cascades down screens when the cable

Zaps out, persistent & granular with a flicker

Of legibility that dissipates before it can be

Interpolated into any succession of imagery.

One hour stretches sixty minutes into a field

Of white flurry: hexagonal lattices of water

Molecules that accumulate in drifts too soon

Strewn with sand, hewn into browning

Mounds by plow blade, left to turn to slush.

Sindhi Wife: Where are you going ?

Sindhi Husband: Watch the game at the Dhabba

Sindhi Wife: Why don't you watch it with me?

 Sindhi Husband: I want to see it with my friends.

Sindhi Wife: So I am nothing to you?

 Sindhi Husband: My god, OK OK I am staying.

Sindhi Wife: Why is the team in black?

 Sindhi Husband: They are in mourning.

Sindhi Wife: The commentator, how does he know all names?

Sindhi Husband: It's his job

Sindhi Wife: They scored!

Sindhi Husband: No, it's an offside.

Sindhi Wife: What is offside?

Sindhi Husband: Offside is the name of the coach.

Sindhi Wife: Where's the coach?

Sindhi Husband: He is off the field

Sindhi Wife: Why isn't he playing?

Sindhi Husband: No he doesn't play, he changes the players and the game tactics.

Sindhi Wife: Tell me, Sachin Tendulkar is there?

Sindhi Husband: No he died

Sindhi Wife: Oh my God, how?

Sindhi Husband: He had watched a game with his wife.

Launched with love for everything Sindhi, our newsletter, Sindhi Samachar, aims to be circulated amongst our Sindhi family and friends intended to forge unity and interaction within our community. We hope our brothers and sisters globally participate and contribute towards it with your views, Sindhi news, Sindhi jokes, or Sindhi recipes, which we will be happy to publish under your name.

Editor-In-Chief

Vini Melwani

Editorial Content

Raj Daswani

Umesh Daswani

Geeta Raj

Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in Sindhi Samachar by our contributors are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the editorial team of Sindhi Samachar. Any content provided by our contributors, bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.