Opined: Thoughts on ignorance towards Chaliho

Returned from Chaliho Puja at Jhulelal Mandir, Sardarnagar, Ahemdabad, Gujarat, India, a few hours back.

The reason you see stress on location is because I am worried. I am worried about the fact that Sindhiyat is losing its hold. Some time ago I was discussing about Chailo with my friend who lives in another state. I was shocked and surprised to know that my friend is not aware about Chaliho at all.

I know modernism is good, speaking foreign languages is good but how can one call themselves modernized if they are not aware of their own roots? While, I took that thought further and spoke to some of my other friends outside and inside India, the vagueness remained same.

In fact, some of them even asked me, 'Sindhis mein Chaliho hota bhi hai?' Being born and brought up in typical Sindhi area, where every festival and occasion is celebrated with zeal, this came as a huge shock. Well, I maybe lucky in that department but the amazing thing was that my friends had all knowledge of what is happening in other cultures and not their own.

Though, it is a personal choice still, I believe that a person should learn his/her own culture (i am not emphasizing that they should follow it) before they learn other things.

The only thing that lingers in my mind is that is today's generation moving far away from their roots? Is Sindhi language and culture vanishing just to be another part of history? If it is so, I am worried a lot.

Many of us, including myself do not know how to write Sindhi while our parents grew learning it. But, I hope to save my culture before it vanishes by at least trying to speak it with my fellow people.

Coming back to the point from where I started, Chaliho is a 40 day fast observed by Sindhi people to worship Lord Jhulelal, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

#SaveSindhiyat #SpeakSindhi