Atmaram’s parents had migrated to India from Dhamrah town of Larkana Sindh during partition in 1947
Atmaram Lalwani was born on March 26, 1967 in India late Seth Bakhatmal Lalwani and late Lajwanti Devi, who had migrated from Dhamrah, a small town of Larkana, Sindh (Pakistan) during partition in 1947. Atmaram had never been to Sindh but the memories his parents had shared, keep his love for Sindh, Sindhi culture and language, and also the spirit of Sindhiyat alive.
His father and mother, along with grandfather, had migrated to India leaving whole of their property behind. “They had to experience difficult times living in miserable conditions at refugee camps. First, they reached Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, then Jabalpur in same state and later at Raipur but finally we, along with my maternal uncle settled at Dalli Rajhara, a town in the state of Chhattisgarh,” he told Sindh Courier through WhatsApp.
“By the grace of god now we have our own house and own shop at the center of City,” he said.
“My father was president of Pujya Sindhi Panchayat Dalli Rajhara during 1994-95. I was also elected as president of Pujya Sindhi Panchyat Dalli Rajhara from 2015 to 2017,” he shared referring to their community services.
“Since September 2016, I am President of Bhartiya Sindhu Sabha Dalli Rajhara,” Atmaram told.
Talking about his contribution towards promotion of Sindhyat, Atma Ram said, “When I was 18 years old I joined Pujya Sindhi Panchyat Dalli Rajhara. My father taught me to dedicate life to Sindhyat and you must get involved in every event of Panchayat and Samaj.”
“Earlier, I was given the responsibility to inform about the events’ schedule to all the families of Pujya Sindhi Panchayat. During this task I realized that this work consumes almost half a day. After that when I became president of the organization, I prepared volunteers in different areas and assigned them to inform the Panchayat members. This was recognized as good initiative by all,” he told.
“It was also observed that mostly the presidents were of above 60 years age. I advised to elect president between 40 and 60 years because they can work efficiently and develop our Panchayats,” Atmaram said and went on to say: “I am happy that this advice was accepted and Dr. Haresh Dasani was appointed first younger age president. It is the result of our efforts that Dharmshala and other Samajik activities boosted up.”
“My main aim as president was to promote our Sindhi Culture and traditions and transfer them to upcoming generation. When I was president, we celebrated birthday of Sant Shri Lal Sai (Chakrabhata) and that celebration is unforgettable.”
“This is my clear vision if we want to save our Sindhiyat then every member from every family must have strong affection towards Sindhiyat. Elders of every family have a vital role to transfer Sindhi culture, rituals to younger generation. We must respect our religion,” Atmaram said passionately.
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Sindh Courier
