An extract from the book - 'Sindhis - The scattered treasure'
Ms. Popati Hiranandani
When I entered my brother's home in Singapore, I found in his
drawing room a Cambodian painting, depicting a scene from the
Mahabharata; an oil painting of a half naked girl from the Bali
island, sculptures of a Korean bride and bridegroom; dolls showing a
Mumbassa couple in one corner, and a dancing Spanish boy and girl in
the other corner. The house was modern and complete with German
electric fittings, Chinese bells, Persian carpets and Indian
curtains.
My brother is married to a Chinese girl who follows the Buddhist
faith, dresses like a Malayan, speaks English and relishes Indian
dishes. Their children have pure Indian names (Sushma, Suvir and
Vivek), can speak English, Malay and Chinese fluently; they enjoy
Hindi movies; are fond of Sindhhi papads and relish Indian Paan.
A Chinese maid cooks Indian dishes, the Malay maid cleans and washes
and an Italian girl is the typist. His day starts with listening to
Gita-slokas in Sanskrit sung by Lata Mangeshkar, followed by Pt.
Ravi Shankar's sitar recital. When he feels tired after the day's
work, he listens to the tapes of Gazals sung by Begum Akhtar. At
another moment he switches on his favourite Sindhi songs sung by
Master Chander, reminiscent of the bygone days.
One will perhaps react to this profile of my brother as a jumble of
faiths and fashions and a pot-pourri of cultures and languages.
But these are the ways of a Sindhi - an international citizen.
Throughout the ages, Sindh was invaded by people from the northwest.
All these diverse races and religions that penetrated Sindh, were
somehow absorbed in the melting pot, and fused with the ancient
heritage of Mohenjo-Daro. Strange phases of history have gone into
the making of what is called "Sindhi Culture". The Sindhis have not
only survived the attacks but have benefited from and assimilated
all that was good in the mores of the lives of the invaders. The
Sufism of the Sindhis is a harmonious blend of the finest value of
both the Vedantic and Islamic cultures.
Non-Sindhis are amazed when they see a Sindhi Tikana (Mandir) which
has the holy Sri Guru Granth Sahib (the Sikh sacred book) installed
in the middle with all the gods and deities surrounding it. All the
religious sects among Sindhis are in harmony with each other. The
Lords Krishna and Rama, Hanuman and Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma all the
deities are worshipped with equal enthusiasm in a Sindhi temple.
Devotees worship Hanuman on Tuesday, Shiva on Monday, Jhulelal on
Friday and the Goddess Kali on the Ekana days, Shri Satya Narayan on
full moon days, together with their paying homage to the sacred Sri
Guru Granth Sahib. There are no restrictions and no hard and fast
rules laid down on the basis of religion.
Many Sindhi wives do not touch a morsel of food unless they finish
their puja of their idols giving them bath and offering them dry
fruits for 'Bhog', reciting prayers either from Guru Nanak's
teachings, or from Sadhu Vaswani's Noori Granth, Satya Sai Baba,
Chinmaya Anand or Swami Shradhanand or a personal guru.
The Sindhi Brahman has also advanced with the times. In Sindh, he
used a Sindhi name to Christian a new born boy like Pamo; Dhamo,
Jhamat and Jhaman and a girl as Popati, Pevi, Menghi and Tikki on
their horoscopes; today he uses names such as Naresh, Vikram,
Prithvi, Diti and Kaushalaya or even fashionable names of movie
stars with a suffix of Kumar or Kumari.
All this may sound flippant - but it emphasises the root of the
Sindhi character. A Sindhi follows the most secular philosophy of
humanism. He never restricts himself to dogmas or rituals. The
legacy of all embracing love for mankind has made the Sindhi
cosmopolitan in his outlook and universal in his temperament. His
social structure is not ridden with prejudices of caste, colour and
creed.
There are no Shudras among the Sindhi Hindus. There is neither the
domination of the Brahmins nor the evil of untouchability. Sindhis
are known for their realistic & practical outlook. The traditional
ills of ancient India, like child marriage, cruelty to widows and
casteism are not for them.
A Gujarati will remain a Gujarati, cooking his food in the pure
Gujarati way, even after staying in Fiji Island for the whole of his
life. A Sindhi adopts an international outlook after being in a
foreign country for only a year. He will try all kinds of dishes and
flavours and yet will remain a Sindhi in his own peculiar way,
abusing in his favourite Sindhi words, enjoying typical Sindhi
dishes of Khichhri & Sayee Bhaji, Curry Chawar, Dhodho Chatni and
Kok Palo whatever and wherever he may be !
A Sindhi is a staunch Indian with a strong streak of patriotism. He
helps Subhash C. Bose in forming his Azad Hind Fauj or in
establishing Jaslok Hospital contributing crores of rupees for the
laudable cause. He invites the Indian Cricket team at a dinner party
in Montego Bay, welcomes VIP's in Hongkong, helps charitable
institutions in India and patronises Indian movies in England.
He entertains the Indian High Commissioner to a "Despedida pasta
lunch", takes keen interest in Indo-Pakistan relations, yet he tries
to do something for the welfare of the people of the land where he
settles down, contributes lavishly to the branches of Rama Krishna
Mission and extends his helping hand in all the social and
charitable institutions and organisations in India.
A Sindhi businessman thinks in English and carries on his business
with his customers in the local language whether he is in Tamil Nadu
or in Spain. He keeps his accounts in a Sindhi dialect with its
peculiar script, talks to this mother in his mother tongue and makes
it a point to see Hindustani films.
A Sindhi wife in Spain knows how to prepare the Spanish Pizza, how
to bake a Chocolate cake if she happens to be in England and learns
to toast a garlic butter bread if her husband is transferred to
Italy. A Sindhi daughter in Hongkong can stand behind the bar-
counter of her home and fix a cocktail glass for her father's guest
& can decorate the dinner table in a Chinese style if her would-be
husband is fond of the fashion. She is at ease when she is attired
in a Japanese Kimono and carries herself gracefully when she is
wearing a Chinese Samfoo. She doesn't mind putting on Minis when she
is moving near the London Tower and she feels very glad when her
photo appears showing her clad in a Kashmiri dress. She can blend
all the fashions together getting ready with a Chinese hairdo or a
French bun, Indian Bindi (Tika), Italian shoes and a Spanish dress.
I have seen Sindhi children in the Canary Islands learning Spanish
at school, speaking Sindhi at home, singing Bhajans in Hindi in the
temples and having competitions in reciting Urdu couplets at
parties. I have found people with peculiar names like Ms. Grace
Vaswani and Mr. Peter Bidichandani in Hongkong, a Ms. Maria Thadani,
Mr. Alberto Bhudwani in Spain and Ms. Siyate Daswani in Vientiane.
A Sindhi either marries by Vedic rites or the Sikh 'Anand Karaj'. He
celebrates his child's naming ceremony the 'Chatti' in a traditional
manner and yet throws cocktails and dinners to mark the occasion! He
organises shows at the club and rummy tea sessions after the
ceremonial Satya Narain Katha at his residence.
A Sindhi travels to far off lands where he gets only donkey's meat
and radish for his meal, he buys land in Canada, builds hotels at
Miami beach, deals in Japanese textiles, befriends Chinese people,
enjoys Korean girls, but is faithful to his Sindhi wife.
All through his life, he is culturally and linguistically a Sufi in
his outlook, adventurous in his travels, tactful in his trade,
social in mixing with people of different faiths and customs,
liberal in his views towards social norms, generous in giving and
tolerant towards all faiths and beliefs.
A Sindhi is a peacock minded person. Such is his life and his story.
Historians record his voyages in Babylon and Egypt, Basra and
Baghdad and his acumen in business. He is a fusion of cultures,
faiths and languages exchanging with the people their way of living
and thinking wherever he may be.
This excerpt can be found at
http://www.sindhish aan.com/newslett er/peacock. htm
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