Roots

What’s a wanderer to know what a home feels like. Or how is a nomad to understand the meaning of ‘home’. For some, it’s where a laptop, adequate supply of food, and a clean bathroom is available. For others it could be a place that includes a large airy kitchen and a backyard with a garden. A home is an extension of a personality, a characteristic of an individual. It is a need to find solace in a private place. Its definition is different for everyone.

For me, having inherited the ‘restless spirit’, and having lived in eight different homes, I understand it in a simple way – home is where the heart is. It’s a fact: you could live in a mud hut, and if your heart is happy, it feels like a palace. I never gave much thought about my roots, my ancestral soil, until I was asked by people from various cultures, where I’m from. And when I mentioned India, it wasn’t enough of an answer, it didn’t pinpoint geographically where my ancestors originated. Yes, but where in India? I was asked.  Ummm…. Mumbai, I mumbled. And then I felt like I needed to explain: I am a Sindhi, my parents are originally from Sindh, once part of India, now a province of Pakistan.  We are a socio-ethnic group that speak Sindhi.

Over the years, having faced natural and domestic calamaties, Sindhis have become a dynamic group of people who don’t dwell on the past. Most elders don’t speak about the Partition of India. They want the new generation of Sindhis to accept their present lives and to focus on looking ahead. The history of Sind is peppered with change:

 7000 BC – Neolithic settlements in the Indus Valley

3000 BC – The Indus Valley Civilization.
2300 BC – The civilization of Mohen-jo-daro.

1500 BC – The Aryan rule with the Vedic Civilization, known as Hinduism.

519 BC – The Persians conquered Sindh

326 B.C. The Greeks under Alexander controlled Sindh.

320-293 Chandragupta Maurya conquered Sindh

273-232 B.C. Ashoka’s reign whose conversion to Buddhism popularization it in Sindh.

711 A.D. The Muslim invasion of Sindh under Muhammad bin Qasim.

This was followed by various Muslim dynasties that ruled Sindh.

1783 to 1843: The Muslim reign of Talpur Mirs in Sindh.
(Source: Sindhi Reflections by Lata Jagtiani)

Change is inherent in Sindhi blood, they are capable of moulding themselves to a new environment. Sindhis reside successfully in different continents, they have found their niche, and willing to fit in, to blend, and to become one of the locals.

‘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.’ – An extract from the book – ‘Sindhis – The Scattered Treasure’ by Ms. Popati Hiranandani.

When the elders speak of their times in Sindh, they speak of harmonious times, they carry with them memories of the friendship shared amongst men and women of different religions.

That, to me, is the true meaning of home – where love, happiness and joy resides – creating good memories.