Thadri

Life has not been the same since I lost my mom, about three years ago. I miss my mom terribly, especially on festive days when my mom would spread the happiness to each and every member of the house, without expecting anything in return. Today was the big festival of our Sindhis. It is called THADRI The mother goddess is worshipped in various forms, Sittala, is worshipped by Sindhis. She is the eldest of several sisters, The annual festival observed in honor of this goddess is called "Thadri", or the cooling festival. It falls on the 7th day of the waning in the month of Savan (July-August) every year. Ladies prepare Lolas and curd on the previous day of the festival , They sing, go to the local shrine and the cold meals (thados). On this day, fire is not lit at home. On this day, mom would be too excited because she loved cooking and it gave her the reason to cook, Her cooking would start, a day prior to the festival. There would be dry vegetable, lentil chappatis, sweet pancakes, sour rice-curd, fried bahjiyas and many more delicacies (I would marvel at her stamina, she never complained about work, never ever) . On the festive day, She would invite everybody for cold lunch. There would be card session after lunch and so much laughter in the house. My family had a great sense of humor; specially my aunts (dad’s sisters) and they would be laughing and quarrelling at the same time…how much I would enjoy seeing so much commotion. Me and my cousins would receive lots of gifts in cash and kind. It would be a great day to celebrate. All my aunts were very jovial and their jokes were always laced with metaphors which made their conversation wittier. With time, most of my family is gone and the traditions are also gradually dying. I don’t make any such things, nor do I enjoy this kind of food anymore. Being weight conscious, I don’t eat fried stuff, or too much sweet or anything with too much masala. I like simple stir fries, or simple home cooked food. I just eat to ease my hunger. My sister called me for lunch today, but I ate quietly and remembered my mom and missed my family and their laughter even more….

Getting connected with a Sindhi across the border...

On Sindhi Global network I got connected with a Sindhi from Pakistan, who gave me some insight about the Sindhis living across the border. He sounded distressed that we are divided over the religion and all the educated Sindhis migrated and only the uneducated landlords stayed behind who only saw their own benefits. He was wondering if we could be united again by common language, culture and tradition. Our forefathers were driven out of their comfort zone and left to fend for themselves. What do we know about what they left behind? And will the youth of tomorrow care? Our parents left penniless, leaving behind their wealth, their emotions and their language. They carried their culture and their tradition with them, but we must not forget that they went to a strange land, and adapted to it. What can you do with Sindhi language in a foreign land? Can you do business? Can you survive without learning to speak in their common language? I have never been to Pakistan to view the life styles of the land and we have little knowledge about the traditions and culture followed back there….we have no communications with the Sindhis living beyond that border, so in what way can we identify with it? We have heard stories, lots of them from our parents who lived there….they would speak about their happy memories in those narrow lanes…about the food they enjoyed, about the traditions that they followed but are they still there? We have no idea. The media paints a different picture. We teach children to speak Sindhi at home (and it sound cute when a three year old speaks that language) but to live in a society of various culture, we learn different language, and we need to, but adhering to the language is difficult. We don’t have schools and colleges to promote the language, nah, not in a foreign land. But can we do something about it now? What we can do now is just to be a good human being and waste no time in making a fuss over what we have already lost. We don’t want people branding Sindhi and saying nasty things. We don’t like people says that “Sindhis are fighting crabs” or “Sindhis are like that only” or “You are Sindhi if you…..” we want to be remembered as a good human being, each one of us are unique in our own way…not somebody to be ridicule at. We need to move on. If we can revive the language, then we can do so…but to be on practical side, it is better not to expect much, because the youth of today have already adapted to the foreign land and they need to speak in the language which is for their progress. We are Sindhis who are successful, who concentrate more on business or jobs and are peace loving people. We mind our own business and have no land to fight for. We still have culture and traditions which we do follow and it is on that string we can all hang on…… However, he send some interesting videos that were worth watching.. pleasant to the ears (Sindhi music) and pleasant to eyes…..(Sindhi folks back home) Watch some Sindhi Videos 'HERE'
It is fantastic

attending offline meeting with Global Sindhis

There is a Global Sindhi Network of which I am a member. We interact on line, sharing Sindhi culture and customs and many other things. And sometimes we meet offline in some restaurant to give a face to the name and interact. After nearly a year, I was finally able to make it for this month’s meet, and surprisingly at the same venue…at Chembur Gymkhana, the only difference was the venue being busy with week-end diners, the pool area was packed and we had to dine in an AC den, in a group of only seven. I was wondering where the others had fizzled out? There is a high percentage of lurkers on the GS, who are very much interested in Sindhi culture, and have happily joined the group, but if the sharing of knowledge is just absorbing the information, without any input or opinions, then, it won’t be long before this thread dies too. To be the member of any group, we make our presence in print or presence, which unfortunately (I am sorry to say) it lacks here, on this network. But, the dinner was fun with Haresh Tolani’s anecdotes which kept us in splits. We opted for veg meal of harbara kababs, spring rolls and ghatiya savories that I drowned it with virgin mary. The main course comprised of dhal, rotis, mixed veg and paneer and dessert was delicious flan and fruit topped with ice-cream. The meeting was good, smaller group, more interaction with discussions ranging from internet trade, business on net, different internet social networks and films. There was not much discussion on Sindhi culture except practicing few words and quizzing our knowledge on typical Sindhi words. One Sindhi word which Sonu C said, was unknown to all of us……. It was almost 12 when it was time to go home, Haresh, Bina and Sonu B were kind enough to drop me in Bandra, even though it meant re-routing their trip…the friendship has just begun.