By Suman Bajpai

The Divine Trail

Gujarat has for long attracted visitors from distant lands in search of trade, empire, or refuge. Together with their trade, migrants and colonizers brought with them their cultural influences and religious beliefs, so that Gujarat today has a diversity of places of worship.

Whether it is Jainism, Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity or Buddhism, all faiths have thrived in Gujarat from ancient times.

For Hindus, the Krishna temple of Dwarka, the Jyotirlingam of Somnath, the Shaktipith of Ambaji, and the holy lake of Narayan Sarovar are among the most important pilgrimage sites. Buddhism thrived in Gujarat between the 3rd century BC and 8th century AD, when many rock-cut caves and stupas were constructed in the state. Among these, Devni Mori at Shamlaji has special importance because a Buddha relic casket was unearthed here. The 12th-century Solanki Rajput rulers were patrons of Jain temples that cover the sacred summits of Shatrunjaya Hill and Girnar Peak, important pilgrimage destinations for Jain devotees.

Christianity grew in Gujarat during the British colonial period. Interestingly, though Jews are a micro-minority in Gujarat, there is a synagogue in Ahmedabad where prayer services and feasts are held on Jewish holy days.

Dwarka—An Abode of Krishna

Dwarka is a place that fascinates every Krishna devotee. The heritage of beachside temples is a unique feature of the state, located alongside the Arabian Sea on the western tip of Gujarat. It is said that it was Lord Krishna’s kingdom. The towering Dwarkadish temple is the focal point of pilgrimage in Dwarka. The Adi Sankracharya Math, the lingam at Nageshwar, the Gomti Talav Tirth, and the island of Bet Dwarka are other attractions for religious visitors to Dwarka. The 12th-century Rukmini Temple, with its delectable carvings and unusual shikhara, is Dwarka’s architectural gem.

‘Dwar’ means door, and ‘Ka’ means Brahma, meaning gateway to salvation. That is the reason the main entrance, which faces north, is called Moksha Dwara. To reach there, one has to cross the narrow lanes lined up with small shops that sell all things related to offerings. The market is too crowded to walk easily, but the first glimpse of the temple forces you to hasten your speed. The intricately carved, tall, conical-shaped spire of the main temple towers over the nearby temple domes. Unlike the façade, the inside view of the temple is very simple.

Somnath—A Jyotirlinga pilgrimage site

The Somnath Temple, or Prabhas Patan, is situated on the sea coast with a beach to the rear and is one of the most sacred places for the worship of Lord Krishna, Lord Shiva, and Shakti, the principal female deity. The seaside temple enshrines one of the most important of the 12 jyotirlingas mentioned in the Shiva Purana. According to tradition, Lord Krishna is said to have been hit on the foot by the arrow of a hunter who mistook him for a deer at Bhalka Tirth and to have left his body at Triveni Sangam. Prabhas Patan is also considered one of the Shaktipiths—it is believed that this is where the stomach of Sati’s body fell following Lord Shiva’s Tandav. The temple commands a superb view of the Arabian Sea. As per the legend, Somnath is built by the moon god, Soma.

The Gujarat Tourism brochure has this to say… “Somnath carries many mysteries with its presence, and among the wonders is the place where the idol called Somnath was placed. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below or suspend it from above. This floating idol in the air became an amazement then.”

Palitana- An Architectural Marvel

Palitana is one of the most important sites of Jain pilgrimage. The Shatrunjaya Hill, looming up near Palitana town, is revered as a place visited by Tirthankar Adinath, whose chief disciple Pundarika is said to have attained enlightenment here. Covering the two ridges of the hill, several hundred Jain temples form a complex-like structure. These groups of temples are within enclosures called tuks. Within each tuk are lavishly carved Jain temples. Many temples signify our architectural glory in the past, as marvelously carved walls, ceilings, brackets, and balconies have an artistic touch and feel. These temples are embellished with numerous individual sculptures. It takes about two hours to reach the Palitana Jain complex atop Shatrunjaya Hill. A spectacular view of hundreds of temple silhouettes and massive domes can be seen during the climb to the summit.

Ambaji—Significant for Buddhists

Ambaji is one of the 51 Shaktipiths – places of worship consecrated to the mother goddess worshipped as Shakti. Millions visit the Ambaji temple town and the hilltop site called Gabbar, which is believed to be the original seat of Mata Amba. This temple town is very lively on auspicious days like Bhadarvi Poonam, the summer and autumnal Navratri festivals, and Diwali Shi Poornam. Shamlaji. Devani Mori, the site where Buddhist stupas once stood, is not far away from Shamlaji. This site holds spiritual importance for Buddhists because a casket unearthed here has an inscription suggesting it held the relics of Lord Buddha.

Udvada: A Sacred Place

The Parsees, a group of Zoroastrians fleeing their homeland of Iran about a millennium ago, settled in South Gujarat. Udvada is the most sacred place for Parsees, a word used to denote the Persian believers in the ancient Zoroastrian religion who left their native Iran to seek religious freedom. Fire has been the focus of Zoroastrian devotion and rituals from ancient times, and this band of Zoroastrian followers promised to build a fire temple as an act of thanksgiving.

Thus, the Atashbehram, or high-grade ritual fire, was lit at Sanjan in South Gujarat, where they landed. This sacred fire is now at Udvada. The Zoroastrian information center at Udvada offers much information about Zoroastrian rituals and Parsi culture. The Atashbehram can only be entered by Zoroastrians, so the center depicts the interiors of this fire temple.

Swaminarayan Temple

Around 1822, the first Swaminarayan temple was built in Ahmedabad, following which more temples were built at sites like Bhuj, Vadtal, Dholera, Junagadh, Muli, Dholka, and Jetalpur, including stunning Swaminarayan temples at Sarangpur and Gondal. The Akshardham at Gandhinagar is one of the most impressive contemporary temples, with state-of-the-art shows and aesthetically appealing memorabilia displays.

The temple in Ahmedabad is richly ornamented with teak wood carvings; the three-story haveli in the temple complex is supported by octagonal and square wooden pillars engraved with carvings, with brightly painted facades – each arc and bracket shining in distinctive colors.

Jewish Synagogue

The Baghdadi Jews fleeing religious persecution in Iraq landed in Surat, from where they dispersed to Kolkata, Mumbai, and other cities. The Bene Israel Jews came to Ahmedabad and other cities of Gujarat during the mid-1800s. Built with donations from Bene Israel residents of Gujarat, the architecture of this synagogue is very much in keeping with the Art Deco and Art Nouveau styles that were popular in the early 20th century. This synagogue is noteworthy for its collection of Torahs (Jewish scriptures), marble floors, movable pews, and a beautiful menorah (seven-branch lamp).

Read: Dholavira in Gujarat Offers a Window to a Glorious Past

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Suman Bajpai is a freelance writer, journalist, editor, translator, traveler, and storyteller based in Delhi. She has written more than 17 books on different subjects and translated around 160 books from English to Hindi.

Courtesy: India Currents

The post Gujarat: Rich Culture of Diverse Faiths first appeared on Sindh Courier.

• The Jhariya family’s mango orchard, Anil Farms, is a place where tradition meets science, and where every fruit has a story

By Neeta Lal

About three km from the edge of Gujarat’s Gir forest, in the little-known village of Bhalchhel, is a sprawling 12.5-acre orchard where over 300 varieties of mangoes grow on a single farm! Clearly, this is no ordinary orchard. It’s India’s largest “live mango museum”—the fruit of three generations of labor, experimentation, and agricultural innovation by the Jhariya family.

Here, mangoes aren’t just fruit; they’re narrative. Anil Farms boasts two-inch dwarf mangoes, crimson-red Japanese Miyazaki mangoes that sell for $30 (₹25,000) per kilo, and even a one-of-a-kind tree that produces 80 different mango varieties. Wait. There are even mangoes that mimic the taste of guava and pineapple, mangoes shaped like apples and bananas, and 14 baramasi types that bear fruit year-round.

This astonishing diversity isn’t accidental. It’s the result of four decades of travel, research, and relentless grafting—from dusty Indian orchards to global fruit expos in Japan and Israel. What began as a modest Kesar mango plantation in the 1980s is today a globally aware orchard with a local soul.

The Mango Whisperer

The journey began with entrepreneur Noor Ali Jhariya, who acquired this parcel of land in 1985 and planted his first Kesar mango saplings. However, the odds were stacked against him. The land sits low, bordered by the Hiran River, and receives excessive moisture during the monsoon. Worse, it’s cloaked in black soil, known for retaining water—a hostile terrain for mangoes, which prefer dry feet and full sun.

“Mangoes are drought-tolerant. They don’t like wet roots. And we had the exact opposite,” says Noor Ali’s grandson Sumeet Jhariya, the third-generation cultivator now running operations. To tackle these issues, the family worked with soil technologists, replaced topsoil, added customized nutrients, and built raised beds for natural drainage. They also implemented drip irrigation, allowing precise water control. What emerged was a resilient model of mango farming in a region few thought suitable.

Grafting a Legacy

By the 1990s, Noor’s son Shamsuddin had expanded the farm and set up a nursery to sell mango saplings. He was curious about other varieties and began sourcing unique cultivars from across India: Langda, Dasheri, Chausa, Banganapalli, and southern gems like Chinna Rasam and Chandrama. His travels took him to agricultural universities and research stations. In 1992, he acquired Sindhu, a seedless, high-pulp variety from Maharashtra’s Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth.

Sumeet continued this expansion, both literally and globally. His travels took him to Japan, where he encountered the much-mythologized Miyazaki mango, known for its glowing red skin, high sugar content, and fragrant aroma. Grown in heated greenhouses, Miyazaki mangoes can fetch up to $3000 at auction. “We grow them outdoors,” says Sumeet. “Our costs are far lower, but the fruit quality is excellent.”

Today, the Jhariya orchard repertoire includes mangoes from Israel, Australia, Thailand, the US, and across Europe—each adapted to Indian conditions through careful grafting and soil management.

Orchard Science

Mango farming, especially at this scale, requires scientific precision. Mango trees don’t breed true; a seed won’t reliably reproduce the parent’s qualities. The Jhariyas use grafting to clone trees, joining the scion (a branch from a desirable variety) to the rootstock (a wild or local seedling with disease resistance). Their success rate is around 80% for Indian varieties and 20–30% for exotics.

“There’s also a difference in fruiting time,” Sumeet explains. “A mango that ripens in December in Florida will ripen in June here. The plant adjusts to climate, but we have to give it the right cues—like water stress followed by heat.”

To maximize space and output, the farm also employs high-density planting. Instead of traditional 40-foot gaps, trees are planted 10–12 feet apart and pruned aggressively. This method not only speeds up fruiting (from 15 years down to 7–10) but also increases yield, from 6–12 tons per hectare to as much as 120 tons.

Agritourism & the Mango Economy

The orchard’s transformation isn’t just agronomic—it’s experiential. What started as a two-room farmhouse has evolved into a 30-room mango resort, drawing tourists from India, the UAE, the UK, and Japan. The family offers guided orchard walks, fruit tastings, grafting workshops, and seasonal mango festivals.

Their revenue comes from three primary streams: fruit sales, sapling and plant sales via the nursery, and tourism. “It’s not just about selling mangoes anymore. It’s about storytelling, education, and experience,” says Sumeet.

During mango season, the farm even conducts auctions for the season’s first fruit, with proceeds going to local causes such as a village cowshed. “We took a cue from Japan. Their first Miyazaki auction fetches thousands of dollars. Here too, auctioning premium Kesar boxes uplifts morale—and helps the community,” he adds.

The Business of Diversity

The Jhariyas’ mango portfolio is arguably one of the most diverse in the world. Some trees yield bright red fruits, others produce low-sugar options suitable for diabetics. There’s even a tree that tastes like lemon-infused mango—a surprise on the palate.

And yet, the farm doesn’t just serve the curious. It’s also a model for sustainable, small-scale agribusiness. With India’s landholdings shrinking, high-density mango farming and graft-based propagation offer a viable path forward for farmers looking to maximize returns.

What makes the Jhariya orchard stand out, however, isn’t just its scale—it’s the intentionality. Every variety has been selected with purpose. Every challenge has led to a solution. “We didn’t set out to create a museum,” says Sumeet. “We just didn’t stop collecting.”

In a world chasing uniformity and monoculture, Bhalchhel’s mango museum stands tall as a monument to agricultural curiosity and innovation. It’s a place where tradition meets science, and where every fruit has a passport and a story. If mangoes are India’s national obsession, then this orchard is its grand, juicy epic.

Read: A Sindhi Saint of Bairagarh and his Mango Trees

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Delhi-based journalist and Editor Neeta Lal has worked with India’s leading publications in her three-decade career. She writes for over 20 publications

Courtesy: India Currents

The post A Living Museum of Mangoes first appeared on Sindh Courier.

A bike rally of over 1000 bikes was organized by Sant Kanwar Nagar Vepari Sangathan on March 24

Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Sindhi community of Vadodara (Baroda) city of Gujarat state of India is celebrating the Cheti Chand 2025 enthusiastically, as the ten day celebration from March 21 and will continue till March 30.

Various organizations of Sindhi community are taking active part in celebration of annual Sindhi festival holding different programs.

Chetri Chand is a festival that marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year for Sindhis. The festival marks the arrival of spring and harvest, but for the Sindhi community, it also marks the birth of Uderolal in 1007, after they prayed to the god Varun Dev on the banks of River Indus.

Mr. Haresh Agnani shared some details of the celebration, according to which Sindhi Kanwar Kala Kendra along with Gujarat Sindhi Sahitiya Academy, Gandhinagar organized Sindhi Cultural Program containing dances on various Sindhi songs on March 23. Approximately 250 Sindhis attended the program. Function was followed by Prasadi of Ragda Pettis and Pav.

On Monday morning March 24, a bike rally of over 1000 bikes was organized by Sant Kanwar Nagar Vepari Sangathan. The main organizers were Mahesh Chhutani and Rajesh Balwani. Rally was attended by all Sindhi Mandirs of Vadodara.

Bike rally started from Sant Satramdas Mandir and covered Prem Prakash Dharam Tirth, Shani Dev Mandir, Swami Lilashah Dharamshala, Sindh Cooperative Credit Society, Faqir ki Jhopdi-Baba Parsram Darbar, Old Jhulelal Temple, B Block, New Jhulelal Mandir, Sant Kanwar Nagar Warasia, Lahripura Jhulelal Temple, Jhulelal Temple, Sawad Colony, Sant Mata Mayadevi Darbar etc.

On the same day, Varun Seva Trust organized a program of 1111 Behranas (First Time in Vadodara). Sant Sain Lal das (Chakarbhata), Sant Sain Jagdish Lal (Amdavad), Shehrawala Sain, Charan Sain, and Mukesh Sain were present in the program.  Approximately 3000 Sindhis attended the function.

In 1111 Behrana Sahib program all dignitaries of Vadodara City including Mr. Govind Bhai Thakur Saree, Mr. Roopchand Vaswani, Shyam Theli Bhandar, Advocate Anita Amrani, Mr. Haresh Banyan Paradise and others were present.

More programs have been planned for rest of the days that include Blood Donation Camp by Lahripura Sindhi Vyapari Parivar; a program by Sant Mata Mayadevi Darbar at Shagun Banquet, Open Bhandara Sahib by Premprakash Dharam Tirth Vadodara etc.

On 30th March, Sargas from Prem Prakash Dharam Tirth Vadodara will be organized from 5pm that will include Camel Carts/Horse Buggies/Decorated Trucks Tempos/ DJ van etc.

On the same day, a program of North Baroda Sindhi Association will be held at Shagun Banquet Hall, Hotel Shagun, 4th floor, opposite Circuit House, R C Dutt Road, Alkapuri from 6 PM onwards.

The program will consist Puj, Lal Sai’s Behrano saheb, Panjra, Aarti, Sesa etc. Solo/Couple/Group dances on Sindhi songs, Singing of Sindhi songs/bhajans, Jokes /Shayris in Sindhi, Poems or Story telling by children in Sindhi and other entertainment activities as per availability of time.

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The post Cheti Chand Celebration in Vadodara first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Suman Bajpai

Folk architecture of Gujarat

While most surviving architecture in India has a spiritual or civic purpose, housing was viewed as impermanent, in a similar light to human life. Most houses in the vernacular architecture were built with transient materials such as wood, brick, mud, and grass. While humans who lived in these structures did tend to routine maintenance and repair, if abandoned, the remains of these homes were recycled elsewhere.

Vernacular architecture refers to buildings constructed without professional architectural expertise. This ‘folk architecture’ reflects local traditions and cultural practices. It usually serves immediate, local needs, relying on the skills of local builders and limited by the materials available in its particular region. Even today a large population of rural Gujarat – its tribal and indigenous communities – continue to live in vernacular housing.

According to environmental and cultural trends, vernacular architecture evolves over time. The tradition is similar to handicrafts that transform local materials into functional, culturally sensitive, and aesthetically beautiful constructs. Masons build the structures with their hands and basic tools using skills and knowledge passed down through generations.

Beautiful Bhunga Huts

Rows of bhungas dot the Kutch area of Gujarat. These circular huts built with clay bricks and a thatched roof are visually striking against the desert landscape. Belonging to the pastoral and semi-nomadic communities of Kutch, bhungas were the only structures to withstand the 2001 earthquake. The lipan (mud, dung, and twig combination) used to plaster the huts makes them wind resistant, while the conical roof overlaid with a layer of dung, topped with another layer of grass, provides water resistance.

Women paint the outside of the huts with colorful geometric, floral, and figurative designs using clay and shale rock. The interiors are exquisitely gilded with designs made of mirror work set in lime and mud plaster. Built-in shelves and cupboards line the walls displaying pots and other belongings which double as decorations and markers of status.

In the tribal communities of eastern Gujarat, homes are built from split bamboo walls plastered with dried clay or palm leaves with terracotta roof tiles made by the village potter. Women beautify the lipan floors with beautiful arc-shaped patterns, impressed by hand into each fresh layer. This detailing transforms even the floor into an important decorative element.

In the Warli community, people paint a wall to seek blessings, while in the Rathwa community, the main wall of the verandah, which separates it from the kitchen, is decorated with ritual Pithora paintings. The Rathwa community and other indigenous groups live in villages surrounding Chhota Udepur, located 100 km from Vadodara.

Handsome Wooden Havelis

Much of India’s traditional architecture was built with woo, most of which vanished due to the material’s perishable nature,. Fortunately, North Gujarat is strewn with striking examples of traditional wooden havelis remarkable for their rich workmanship. The most pristine havelis are in Ahmedabad’s old quarters.

Gujarat has never had an abundant natural supply of structural timber and imported most of it by sea from Daman, Malabar, and Myanmar. Seasoned teak wood was commonly used because its extremely durable and termite-resistant nature allowed havelis to survive for centuries. Gujarat’s dry climate also aided in the preservation. Wood played a functional role as the structural base, but also served as a canvas that transformed each residence into an artistic statement.

Elaborate carvings cover almost every area of the front facade. The skill and detailing of the wooden engravings rival exquisite Sompura whose artisans showed unique mastery in the buildings they created. Somnath temple, the Sun temple in Modhera, and the Akshardham temple in Gandhinagar are examples of their skillful stonework. Doors, which represent gateways to prosperity and well-being, are heavily decorated. Doors are carved with dwarpals (Kshatriya guards holding sticks or spears) and gajuyalas (a mythical creature combining the head of an elephant with the body of a tiger and elements of a bird), to protect against invaders and ward off evil spirits.

The semi-public spaces of the home were the most lavishly emblazoned. The carvings combined Hindu and Jain figurines, Muslim abstract and geometrical motifs, as well as European, Persian, and Maratha influences. The most popular motifs, however, were the ones believed to harbor favorable blessings. These images included plants, leaves, Ganesha, apsaras (celestial dams), and vidhyadharas (demigods holding musical instruments).

The havelis of Ahmedabad also featured unique floral patterns etched into the space above the balcony. This motif mimicked the block designs used by local printers. The exteriors were tinted with Beltel, a black preservative oil, to varnish all of the city’s buildings.

The Pol System

Pols are a distinctive feature of North Gujarat’s old urban centers, particularly in Patan, Palampur, and Ahmedabad. Pols are a dense arrangement of multi-story homes with a garden gate, usually shut at night. Each pol has one or two official gates which serve as secret passages known only to residents connected by adjoining pols. These secret passages provided a haven from invaders besieging a main entrance to a pol.

Historically, each pol was specific to a community, caste, or occupational group. The neighborhood was formed based on cultural homogeneity rather than economic status. At its essence, the pol is a network of narrow, meandering streets, alleys, shrines, and open community spaces with tower-like structures called chabutra.

Read: Ajrakhpur Village– Hub of Ajrak Industry in Katchch

The typical pol house, usually two or four stories high, is deep and narrow and shares walls with its neighbors. Each story projects beyond the one below, minimizes the penetration of sun and heat, and shades the actual streets during summer. The heart of the home in the courtyard is critical in releasing heated air by convection. Organized around the courtyard are a series of semi-open spaces and rooms. In many of the houses, the courtyard also forms the roof of the tanka, a spacious underground tank that harvests rainwater during the monsoon for year-round use. A tacit system based on degrees of privacy governs who can enter the house and how far past the courtyard or up the steep, single-flight stairs a guest can wander.

Chabutra Bird Feeders

The chabutra is an ornamental bird feeder erected on a pillar and situated in the center of a pol to provide food and water to birds and animals. The chabutra also functioned as a meeting space, a resting place for street hawkers, and a stage for speakers. Each chabutra has a distinct flavor. Built of either stone or wood, they display varied combinations of Hindu and Jain carvings, Islamic domes and arches, and colonial influences depicting vernacular architecture. This custom stems from the Hindu and Jain traditions of respecting and caring for all life forms and reflects the charity, compassion, committee, and creativity of these communal structures.

Read: Fakirani Jats of Kutch, Gujarat

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Suman Bajpai is a freelance writer, journalist, editor, translator, traveler, and storyteller based in Delhi. She has written more than 17 books on different subjects and translated around 160 books from English to Hindi.

Courtesy: India Currents (Posted on August 11, 2024)

The post Lessons in Sustainability from the Folk Architecture of Gujarat first appeared on Sindh Courier.

By Sreekanth Sanjay Penugonda

Place: Hajipir, Kutch, Gujarat

Hajipir mela is one of the most popular and biggest Melas (Festivals) of Gujarat. This fair is celebrated in the memory of a Muslim saint, Pir Hazrat Haji Ali Shah Bukhari.

I have been living Kutch from past the few months and trying to explore the landscape, culture art and food of this place. Kutch being the largest district in India is very vast and takes a lot of time to travel from one end to the other. Kutch is known for very big melas like Mota Yaksh no mela which takes place during October and Hajipir no mela during April. I feel melas are the great places to understand the culture, lifestyle and community dynamics of the region.

This year in April I got a chance to attend the Hajipir mela and see myself. One can reach the Hajipir dargah (Shrine) in multiple ways. There are bus services from Bhuj to Hajipir via Nakhatrana and few buses go via Dhordo. I along with my friend went to Hajipir via Dhordo and the road is very beautiful. With White Rann of Kutch on one side, this narrow road goes through the Desert of Kutch and the whole landscape looks barren with no vegetation except for Prosopis Juliflora or ‘Gaando bawal’ in Gujarati, a invasive tree which was introduced to Southern India in 1877 by British. This plant is a native of South America and is very adaptable to desert landscapes. It has become the main threat to the grasslands of Gujarat and tree itself cannot be used as a fodder for the livestock.

Hajipir, a Muslim saint is believed to be a soldier in Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri, a ruler from Ghurid dynasty. Hajipir also known as Zinda pir or Vali pir settled in the village of ‘Nara’ after he left his service as a soldier. His original name was Ali Akbar, after he left service in the army, he spent his rest of life protecting the animals and people driven away by local dacoits. He performed Hajj (A highest pilgrimage in Islamic faith) and entitled to be ‘Haji’.

He roamed through Banni, Pachcham and Garada and preached the tenets of Islam, as a result some of which some of the Solanki Rajputs embraced the faith. Once when notorious Ker rajputs forcibily drove away the cattle of Nara village, Hajipir ordered his Solanki disciples to regain them. In the fierce encounter that followed, the Solankis who were few in number, were slain by Ker Rajputs. Thereafter, Hajipir himself took up the pursuit and laid down his life fighting valiantly. His body was interred on the bank of Sodarana pond as desired by him. The present day Dargah stands on his tomb and every year on first Monday of ‘Chitra’, Hajipir mela (fair) is celebrated.

The fair is attended by thousands of devotees from different faiths, regions and states. Both the Hindus and Muslims revere the saint and visit his dargah and offer flowers, chadars and money. Some stories say that Hajipir was died while protecting a cow herd that belongs to a Rabari woman (Rabaris are one of the Hindu pastoral communities). That’s why he is revered by Hindus as well. ‘Ram Katha’ programs are staged by both Hindus and Muslims. Apart from this, there are also wrestling competitions are also held during the mela.

Read: Fakirani Jats of Kutch, Gujarat

People from far away districts of Gujarat visit the mela. They travel in Auto rickshaws, buses, taxis, Lorries to reach Hajipir. Devotees also walk from their villages, hundreds of kilometers in the hot sun to reach mela. The government of Gujarat also provides special bus services from Bhuj to reach the mela.

Devotees camp around the Hajipir dargah for three days and enjoy the mela. Mela have so many recreational things for both adults and children, like Giant wheels and huge swings. All these are make-shift which makes them risky, so my friend and I didn’t sit on any of those. Apart from these, there are multiple food stalls which mostly sell Indo-Chinese food, Pav bhaji, Ice creams and sweets. There are also numerous stores which sell the ‘Ajrakh’ printed clothes, bandhni shawls and sarees and other handicrafts like wooden and Lac items.

People camp here for three days in the desert and prepare food for these three in the camps. There were so many shops in the mela which sold meat and groceries as well.

Interestingly, the meal is situated in Banni (Kutch district) and visited by the people from far away districts of Gujarat. But there are communities in Banni like, Mutwas, Jats and Samas which don’t visit the mela. Other communities from Banni like Gharasia Jats and Vada Kolis visit mela solely for recreational purposes.

Personally, I love visiting melas because they are like a window into the lives of local communities and I have visited few other melas in Kutch before. But the Hajipir mela is different. This was the first time I witnessed Hindus and Muslims celebrating mela in such a grand scale. Since there was a huge crowd, there was also a large amount of trash in the whole of Hajipir village and the roads leading to it. The village sits on the boundary of Chharidhand wetland reserve, which is home to a large number of migratory birds, the plastic waste left by people in the mela enters this reserve effecting its ecology.

Read: Kutch from Kingdom to District

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Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Kutch Villagers’ hunt for gold has led to discovery of a new Indus Civilization site in Gujarat state of India. Named as ‘Morodharo’, the new archaeological site of Indus Civilization is located near Lodrani village in Gujarat, situated 51 kilometers from the Dholavira World Heritage site in Kutch had long been rumored to harbor hidden gold.

Some five years ago, a group of enterprising individuals joined forces to embark on a quest for the elusive treasure.

What they uncovered, and what archaeologists later unearthed as they assumed control of the excavation following initial discoveries, is a fortified settlement of the Indus/Harappan civilization.

The Indus Civilization, also known as Harappan Civilization, thrived during the Bronze Age in the northwestern areas of South Asia. It endured from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, with its mature phase spanning from 2600 BCE to 1900 BCE.

“Villagers believed there was a medieval fortress and buried treasure. But when we examined the site, we found a Harappan settlement where life was flourishing some 4,500 years ago,” said Ajay Yadav, who was one of the lead archaeologists in this discovery.

Ajay Yadav, a research scholar, collaborated with his professor, Damian Robinson, both affiliated with Oxford’s School of Archaeology, in making this breakthrough.

Contrary to the previous perception of Lodrani as a mere stone-rubble settlement, their investigation revealed architectural details at the site remarkably similar to those found in Dholavira.

“Our most important observation is that this site and Dholavira both depended on the sea. As it’s so close to the Rann (desert), it can be safely presumed that at that time what became a desert later must have been navigable,” Yadav said.

Morodharo’s proximity to the sea and its location near the Rann of Kutch suggests that the area was navigable during ancient times, contributing to trade and connectivity.

The site was formally identified in January and named Morodharo.

The following are the features of the Harappan site Morodharo:

Morodharo is a fortified settlement of the Harappan era, with the fortification measuring 102 m to the west and 58 m north to the south. The thickness of the wall is 3.3 m on an average.

Morodhara has a 10×10 m platform on the south-west side and a well on the north-east side.

Burial cairns have been found at Morodharo. A cairn is an intentionally constructed mound of stones, typically created for marking a location or serving as a burial mound.

Also read: Ancient Rock Art of Sindh’s Seeta valley

Harappan pottery with perforated jar sherds, reserved slipware and terracotta cakes have also been unearthed.

All these objects bear a notable resemblance to those discovered in Dholavira.

The site might never have been discovered if it weren’t for the villagers searching for gold.

The discovery of the fortified settlement near Dholavira, named Morodharo, is a significant archaeological find that sheds light on the ancient civilization’s expansion and influence in the region.

According to Indian media, the discovery of Morodharo adds to understanding of the extent and influence of the Indus civilization in the region and highlights the importance of local initiatives in uncovering archaeological treasures.

Earlier surveys conducted in 1967-68 by archaeologist J.P. Joshi hinted at the presence of an Indus or Harappan site in Lodrani, but concrete evidence was lacking at that time.

The recent discovery underscores the value of ongoing archaeological research and community involvement in uncovering India’s rich antiquity.

Also read: Sindhi monks had attended 2nd and 3rd Buddhist councils in 278 and 253 B.C.

The discovery was significant enough that archaeologists from Oxford University joined the quest after initial signs of the discovery.

The site has yielded a considerable amount of Indus or Harappan pottery that is similar to the findings at Dholavira, indicating a connection between the two settlements. Experts suggest that Morodharo displays the characteristics of a mature to late Harappan period (2,600-1,300 BCE), which sheds light on the ancient chronology of the region.

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Source: IASGYAN, India Times, Vajiramandravi, India Today and Utkarsh  

The post Kutch Villagers’ hunt for gold leads to discovery of a new Indus Civilization site first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Nasir Aijaz

Scion of a Syed family from Ahmedabad Gujarat in imperial India, Comrade Bukhari spent his life in Sindh since 1922. He was a much-loved and respected Marxist, whose contribution to the cause of peasants, industrial workers and the downtrodden has left lasting imprints not only on the lives of people of the sub-continent but also greatly influenced the mainstream politics.

Bukhari was born on 14th March, 1900 exactly 17 years after the death of Karl Marx, the founder of the modern communist ideology, on 14th March, 1883.

He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (CPI)

During his early days at the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College Aligarh, Bukhari got inspired by Moulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar and on his insistence left the college without completing his studies. (Qazi Fazalullah classmate of Bukhari, who later in life became Sindh Chief Minister, also left MAO College Aligarh). Bukhari and Qazi Sahib later joined Jamia Millia established by Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar.

Comrade Syed Jamaluddin Bukhari went to Moscow after the October (Russian) Revolution at the age of 19 and stayed there for about two years to get his initial indoctrination in the working of the Bolshevik administration during its early days. He returned to Ahmedabad in the last quarter of the year 1921.

On the advice of Moulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Comrade Bukhari arrived in Karachi at the end of 1921 or early 1922 and joined daily Al-Waheed, an organ of Khilafat Movement, where he worked for about six years during which he also remained acting Editor of the newspaper for a couple of months.

He was also the first and the last Secretary of Sindh Communist Party appointed by the CPI (1942 – 1948)

Comrade Syed Jamaluddin Bukhari was served with a show-cause notice on 25th November 1922, while he was working as Manager Al-Waheed followed by arrest and sentenced for 18 months rigorous imprisonment and fine of five hundred rupees, on non-payment of fine further imprisonment for six months.

He was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of India (CPI). Comrade Bukhari also attended the formation meeting of the Progressive Writers Association of India.

He was also the first and the last Secretary of Sindh Communist Party appointed by the CPI (1942 – 1948). In July 1948, Comrade Bukhari, Secretary Sindh Communist Party was arrested under Safety Act along with eight other Comrades and Party Office located opposite Light House Cinema on Bunder Road, was sealed. Comrade Shanta Bukhari (wife of Comrade Bukhari) who was running commune also left the Party Office.

On the instructions of Comrade Bukhari from Jail, Comrade Shanta handed over available Party Funds – twenty eight thousand rupees cash, keys of Communist Party properties including office, printing press, flat located in Burns Rod area, bank account details to Comrade Sajjad Zaheer while walking on Elphinistone Street Saddar Karachi, sometime in September or October, 1948. Comrade Hasan Nasir was also there.

During arrest under Safety Act Comrade Bukhari remained in Hyderabad and Karachi Prison for about eight months. In March, 1949 he was released and externed to Larkana. His Aligarh friend, Qazi Fazalullah, who was at that time Home Minister of Sindh, took Bukhari, his wife Comrade Shanta and two sons to Larkana.

Comrade Syed Jamaluddin Bukhari played a pivotal role in the struggle of the urban and rural proletariat in the subcontinent as President of the All India Kisan Sabha.

On taking over as Secretary Sindh Communist Party Comrade Bukhari started organizing working class, laborers, haris, youths, students and working women besides promotion of progressive Sindhi Literature and cultural activities. Arranged translation of writings of progressive writers in Sindhi and also translation of Communist Manifesto in Sindhi. Initiated the idea for formation of a progressive literary organization for promotion of Sindhi literature on the pattern of Progressive Writers Association which led to establishment of Sindhi Adabi Sangat by Comrade Gobind Malhi in the year 1946.

In addition to setting up of Nai Dunya Kitab Ghar, Sindh Communist Party also started Study Circle to acquaint knowledge and information about Marxism and the Communist Movement.

Comrade Bukhari was strong opponent of creation of One-Unit and also played a leading role in the Anti-One Unit Movement. Comrade Bukhari was the first person arrested in Sindh on the start of the anti-one unit movement in the year 1954

The party, under Comrade Bukhari as Secretary, arranged Sindh Hari Conferences at Sarhari and Mirpur Bathoro in early 40s besides active participation in the Naval Mutiny in February 1946. He was the man behind establishment of Sindh Hari Committee, besides organizing the trade union movement.

Movement for Separation of Sindh from Bombay and Anti-One Unit Movement were very important movements for Sindh and its people and Comrade Syed Jamauddin Bukhari was one of front line leaders of these two movements.

Comrade Bukhari was strong opponent of creation of One-Unit and also played a leading role in the Anti-One Unit Movement.

Bukhari was one of 26 signatories of the Hindu-Muslim Pact for the separation of Sindh from Bombay (published in daily Al-Waheed on 20th June, 1928 and also in the book SINDH JI BOMBAY MAAN AZADI by Saeen G. M. Syed). Comrade Bukhari toured allover Sindh along with Shaikh Abdul Majeed Sindhi to create awareness and support for this cause.

At the Second Congress of the CPI at Calcutta (present-day Kolkata) in February-March 1948, he opposed the decision to establish the Communist Party of Pakistan and instead suggested allowing local leadership by holding its meeting in Pakistan to decide creation of Communist Party of Pakistan and appointment of Secretary General of CPP. At the Calcutta Congress Comrade Bukhari strongly opposed changing the point of view and CPI Thesis on Pakistan.

Comrade Bukhari is also acknowledged by political historians as the mentor of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Syed Jamaluddin Bukhari died in his 85th year on 17th December, 1984, and is buried at Larkana.

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Nasir Aijaz is a Karachi-based senior journalist and author of nine books on history, travelogues, language and literature.

The post From Gujarat to Sindh: Life Journey of Comrade Jamaluddin Bukhari first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Zahir Bhalloo

Gravestones

Besides the “qalamdān-step” graves, the Lawatiya cemetery in Jibroo also contains at least five gravestones made in the late nineteenth century. These gravestones contain bilingual Sindhi and Persian inscriptions. The Sindhi element is written in Khojki Sindhi script, while the Persian part is written in nastaʿliq script. Two gravestones appear to be related to a single family. The first records the death of Rubab wife of Hajji Muhammad ʿAli Hyderabadi on 23 Rabiʿ I 1315/22 August 1897 (fig. 5) and the second records the death of his daughter Shahi in the following year on 19 Shaʿban 1315/13 January 1898. A third gravestone records the death of Fatima bt. Hajji ʿAbd al-Rasul Qasim Hyderabadi on 26 Shaʿban 1317/30 December 1899. These three gravestones are simple in style and are smaller in size than the remaining two gravestones.

The remaining two gravestones are far more elaborate. They were probably commissioned by wealthy Lawatiya merchants. The Persian element consisting of honorifics in these gravestones is longer. The Persian is also inscribed in Arabic naskh script not Persian nastaʿliq used for the simpler gravestones. There is also an additional Arabic element in these gravestones, mainly pious Arabic formulas such as huwa l-ḥayy al-ladhī lā yamūt (He God is the Everlasting who does not die) or verses from the Qurʾan relating to the inevitability of death such as Q: 28:88: kullu shayʾin hālikun illā wajhahu (everything is perishable except his (God’s) Face). The first gravestone records the death of Safura daughter of Hajji Fadil Hyderabadi on 25 Shawwal 1298/20 September 1881 (fig.6). The artisan who produced the gravestone (ʿAbd al-Khan Shuma? Birdi?) has recorded his name at the top. The second gravestone is dated the beginning of Dhu l-Hijja 1312/May 1895. It records the death of Aqa ʿAbdulu Muḥammad Mukiya Ghulam ʿAli Hyderabadi described as the Hyderabadi merchant (tājir-i ḥaydarābādī) (fig. 7). It is not clear where these gravestones were produced. Given the usage of Persian, it is likely they were produced for individuals belonging to Lawatiya lineages that had initially settled in Iranian ports along the Persian Gulf coast such as Bandar Lingeh or the port of Chabhar in Iranian Baluchistan, before eventually settling in Matrah, Oman.

Devotional Texts

In their ritual performance, the Lawatiya rely on a corpus of Shiʿi devotional poetry in Arabic, Persian and Sindhi relating to the martyrdom of the grand-son of the Prophet, al-Husayn in Kerbala in 680 A.D. The Sindhi poetry recorded in Khojki Sindhi script consists of elegies known as marsiyo. These elegies were recorded into long vertical pothi manuscripts, which resemble the registers used to record accounts (see fig. 10 below). The exact number of such surviving manuscripts among the group is not known. These manuscripts are sometimes even used in actual recitations of the marsiyo by the Lawatiya today. The only manuscript I have examined so far is dated 1326/1908-1909 and belonged to ʿAbd al-Ghafur al-Hyderabadi. Some of the elegies recorded in Khojki Sindhi script in this manuscript can be traced to the work of the Sindhi poet of Sehwan Sharif, Sabit ʿAli Shah Kerbalai (1740-1810).44 There is some evidence to suggest that the Khojas in Kutch also preserved similar manuscripts containing the marsiyo of Sabit ʿAli Shah.

Accounting Records, Letters and Registers

Besides gravestones and devotional texts, the third type of written artefact among the Lawatiya in Khojki Sindhi script are commercial accounting records, letters, and registers. Khojki Sindhi was used as a mercantile script among the Lawatiya well into the 1980s before falling into disuse. The Lawatiya appear to be the only known Khoja group that preserved the usage of the script in its mercantile variant into the twentieth century. During fieldwork in Muscat, I came across the archive (fig. 8) of a textile broker active in the Matrah suq, ʿAli Mukhtar b. ʿAli Muhammad Salih al-Lawati (al-Hyderabadi) (d. 1988) in the attic of his brother.46 Bundles of documents and twenty-two registers in Khojki Sindhi script were crammed into an old suitcase and a wooden chest (fig. 9). Many of the registers (fig. 10) and documents (fig. 11) were wrapped in cotton cloth. Given the fact that there is almost no research on the usage of the Khojki Sindhi script in its mercantile form, this corpus of material is of outstanding historical significance. It is likely that many of the other Lawatiya lineages in Oman also preserve similar commercial documentary corpora in Khojki Sindhi script. This includes Arabic deeds known as waraqa with witness clauses in Khojki Sindhi script.

Conclusion

The main objective of this study has been to shed light on Oman’s transregional connections to Sindh and Gujarat through the example of the mobility of the Lawatiya Shiʿi Muslim presence and its material heritage. Oman has ancient historic ties to Sindh and Gujarat. The mobility and settlement of the Lawatiya is only one recent episode of a longue durée history of movement and settlement between these regions.48 The Lawatiya are, moreover, not the only diasporic group that settled in Oman from Sindh and Gujarat. The Hindu merchant communities of Oman also moved to Oman from Sindh and Gujarat, while the Sunni Muslim Zadjali community is also known to have ties to Sindh. The material heritage of the Lawatiya points to different transregional mobilities which resulted in the formation of this social group. These mobilities involved movement between Sindh and Kutch itself, and across the coastal zones of Baluchistan, southern Iran, the Trucial States (today the United Arab Emirates), and Oman. Not surprisingly, culturally, and linguistically, the Lawatiya have been shaped through their mobilities by Sindhi, Kutchi, Baluchi, Persian and Arabic. This is also reflected in their material heritage in terms of their distinctive funerary architecture and written artefacts.

The Lawatiya example is significant as it demonstrates that the historic emergence of Khoja groups brought together individuals with different caste backgrounds through a complex integrative process that occurred from the late eighteenth century onwards. This integrative process took place within the context of transregional mobility and involved repeated shifts in adherence of the newly formed group to rival spiritual genealogies. The Lawatiya of Oman are the only known Khoja group who have retained the name of the original caste, lotia/lutiyah, to which some of the founders of the Lawatiya lineages belonged. In all other Khoja groups the pre-Khoja caste or group names have not been preserved.

Besides the integrative process that led to the emergence of the Lawatiya Khoja group, it should be noted that the Lawatiya have also integrated over time, through marriage, individuals from the Baharina Arab and Iranian Shiʿi communities with whom the Lawatiya share the same Twelver Shiʿi religious identity. What is less clear are social links, if any, past or present, between the Lawatiya lineages and the Sunni Muslim Zadjali or Baluchi communities in Oman. More recently, there are also examples of intermarriage between the Lawatiya and Omani Ibadhis. These new integrative processes have taken place alongside new transregional mobilities of the Lawatiya within the Middle East, as Lawatiya migrate and return to Oman after work or study in places such as Iraq, Kuwait, and other parts of the Gulf. The result is the emergence of an entirely new generation of Lawatiya, many of whom have lost the ability to speak the Sindhi sociolect of the group. For these Lawatiya, there is little memory of a shared Khoja past. Their connection to South Asia, is understood, if at all, through the Banu Sama b. Luʾayy narrative of their tribe’s origins in Oman and its subsequent return to Oman from Sindh. Only among older Lawatiya, is there still some consciousness of links with other Khoja groups, and a desire to interpret Lawatiya difference, while, transmitting at the same time, the few material, ritual, or linguistic remains of a transregional heritage that separates the Lawatiya of Oman, both from other Khojas, and from Arab and Iranian Shiʿis of the Gulf region. (Concludes)

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Zahir Bhalloo – Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), Universität Hamburg

Research for this paper was generously funded by the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science (SQCCS) through an Oman Research Grant visiting fellowship at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin. An earlier version of the paper was presented online on 8 July 2021.

Courtesy: Open Edition Journals

Click here for Part-I and Part-II

The post Oman’s Trans-regional Connections to Sindh and Gujarat – Part-III first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Mobility and Material Heritage

Most Lawatiya have no living memory or record of when the founders of the lineages to which they belong to settled in Oman from Sindh and Gujarat. Almost without exception, however, the Lawatiya belong to different related lineages. Each lineage is descended from a common male ancestor, the founder of the lineage, to whose name the Sindhi suffix -ani is added to denote descent. In some cases, the -ani lineage name is derived from a founder-ancestor who bears a typical Muslim name such as Faydalani (from Faydullah), Khalfanani (Khalfan), Jamalani (Jamal), Muradani (Murad), etc. Most other lineage names, however, are not derived from founder-ancestors with Muslim sounding names, for example Badwani (from Badu), Sajwani (Saju), Shalwani (Shalu), Najwani (Naju), etc. It has been suggested that these latter names are nevertheless corrupted from original Arabic names. The lineage name Salyani, for example, is thought to derive from Salih. What is clearly missing among the Lawatiya are the distinctive names which end with a -ji or -si suffix (such as Ramji, Dewji, Kanji, Walji or Champsi, Rattansi, etc.) commonly found among Khoja groups that settled elsewhere across the Western Indian Ocean littoral. Instead, the Lawatiya lineages tend to have a far higher prevalence of Muslim names going back to the earliest known founders of each lineage. This suggests that at least some of the Lawatiya may have emerged from a Sindhi Muslim background as opposed to more recently converted Hindu castes from Gujarat.

In addition to the -ani Sindhi suffix lineage name, the Lawatiya were also known locally as Hyderabadi. The Arabic nisba al-Hyderabadi is used in Arabic deeds and by the Lawatiya themselves throughout the nineteenth century in reference to the origins of some of the lineages of the group from the town of Hyderabad, Sindh, founded in 1768. The precise nature, however, of this connection of the Lawatiya lineages to Hyderabad, Sindh is, however, obscure. There appear to be no traces of the original Lawatiya settlement in Hyderabad, Sindh. The spoken Sindhi sociolect of the Lawatiya , known as Khojki among the Lawatiya, also appears to be closer to Kutchi today than to the central Sindhi dialect (vicholi) spoken in Hyderabad, Sindh. This linguistic shift is sometimes credited to the arrival and dominance of a second wave of Kutchi speaking Khojas that migrated to Oman directly from Kutch and merged with the original Sindhi speaking Lawatiya group that came from Hyderabad, Sindh.

The evidence of the oral traditions preserved by the Aga Khani Khojas suggests a long history of transregional mobility of Khojas between the neighboring regions of Sindh, Kutch, and Kathiawar. The earliest attested example of movement appears to be from Sindh to Kutch. It is linked to the mobility of a spiritual master (pīr) known as Pir Dadu (d. 1005/1596?). Pir Dadu is credited with converting locals in Sindh to the satpanth religious tradition that is associated today with the Khojas. Pir Dadu is said to have fled persecution in Sindh and settled in Bhuj, Kutch, taking with him converted Sindhi satpanthi families from Sindh to Kutch. The examples of movement in the opposite direction, from Kutch to Sindh, are more recent. They are either connected to the Rann of Kutch earthquake of 1819 or to famines that devastated Kutch and other parts of Gujarat in the first decades of the nineteenth century. An example is the trajectory of a certain Assa son of Danidina. Danidina is said to have been a native of Okhamandal, situated on the northern most tip of Kathiawar. In the late eighteenth century, he settled in Bhuj, Kutch. He is the earliest known individual responsible for collecting religious dues from the Khojas of Kutch and transferring them to the grandfather and later to the father of Aga Khan I in Iran. In 1819, following the Rann of Kutch earthquake, Danidina’s son Assa left Bhuj, Kutch, and trekked via Lakhpat, Kutch, to a small port on the Kutch-Sindh border known as Ramki Bazar (Rahimki Bazar) situated today in Tharparkar, Sindh. From Ramki Bazar, Assa is said to have trekked to Hyderabad where he was granted a fief by the local ruler near the Fulailee River, about a mile from the fort of Hyderabad.

The story of Assa is the earliest known fragment preserved in the Aga Khani Khoja oral tradition which attests to the presence in the early nineteenth century of Khojas from Kutch in Hyderabad, Sindh. Not much more is known about this early Kutchi Khoja presence in Hyderabad, Sindh, and its subsequent evolution. Are the present day Lawatiya descended from this historic Kutchi Khoja presence in Hyderabad, Sindh? Michel Boivin has shown that the Khoja community in Karachi emerged out of individuals with diverse caste backgrounds from Sindh and Gujarat. What united these individuals and made them “Khoja” was their conversion by a pīr to a specific religious tradition known as satpanth. The invocatory prayer (duʿa) of this religious tradition and its ritual of communion (ghat-pāt) affirmed the adherence of the Khojas to a specific chain (silsila) of Sufi masters (pīrs). Most of the pirs of the Khoja silsila in Sindh and Gujarat traced their lineage as sayyids (descendants of the Prophet) to a fourteenth century Sufi buried in Multan, Pir Shams Sabazawari Multani (d.757/1356). In the nineteenth century, however, following the arrival of Aga Khan I in Sindh from Iran in 1843, the charismatic authority of local pīrs claiming descent from Pir Shams declined among most Khojas who recognized Aga Khan I as their pīr and later as a Nizari Ismaʿili imam. Khojas, who chose not to recognize the Aga Khan I as a Nizari Ismaʿili imam, identified themselves as Sunni or Twelver Shiʿi, and, in so doing, also abandoned the old Khoja silsila of pīrs and ritual of communion.

The script is simply referred to by the Lawatiya as “Sindhi” not “Khojki Sindhi”. The term Khojki is used by the Lawatiya to refer to their spoken sociolect

It is likely that a similar integrative process occurred in Hyderabad, Sindh, prior to the arrival of the Aga Khan I. Recognition of the spiritual authority of a specific chain of pīrs through the invocatory prayer (duʿa) and ritual of communion allowed a diverse group of individuals to become Khoja. It meant that individuals such as Assa arriving in Sindh from Kutch and local Sindhis known as lotias/lutiyah could come together to form the basis of the Khoja community in Hyderabad, Sindh. It is this new Hyderabadi Khoja group that would later become significant in Oman and elsewhere in the Persian Gulf and use the Arabic nisba al-Hyderabadi. Further linguistic research on the Lawatiya spoken sociolect might be able to shed light on the complex Sindhi-Kutchi confluence that led to the emergence of the Lawatiya community. This confluence probably occurred both in Hyderabad, Sindh itself and in Matrah, Oman where the Lawatiya or Lutiyah, who by now were also known as Khojas and Hyderabadis, had already settled. The example of the formation of Khoja communities elsewhere in the Western Indian Ocean offers comparable examples of a Kutchi-Kathiawari convergence. In the latter case Kutchis and Kathiawaris from diverse agricultural and artisanal caste backgrounds also come together in an integrative process that occurred after the conversion of such individuals to satpanth and their adherence to a silsila of pīrs. It is only in the nineteenth century that such diverse Khoja groups, including the Lawatiya, would become associated mainly with trade.

Tracing the movement of the individual founders of the Lawatiya lineages from Sindh and Kutch to Oman is also made more difficult because in some cases arrival in Oman was preceded by initial settlement in the ports of Makran (coastal zone of Iranian and Pakistani Baluchistan), the Persian Gulf, the Trucial States or even further afield in Bombay. Lawatiya lineages founded by individuals that had initially settled in Chabahhar in Iranian Baluchistan are known as “Chobari”, while those that had settled in Bandar Lingeh (Hurmuzgan province, Iran) in the Persian Gulf are called “Lingewari”. There are also examples of arrival and settlement in Oman that occurred via the Trucial States. For example, one of the early leaders of the Lawatiya community in Matrah, Oman, Hajj Sulyman Qurbun (Qurban ʿAli), is said to have received Hajj ʿAbdullatif b. Fadil (1851-1931) in Matrah after he arrived, accompanied by others, from Raʾs al-Khayma (United Arab Emirates) following his father’s death in 1857. These multiple transregional mobilities of the Lawatiya ancestors as we shall see, is reflected in their material heritage.

Lawatiya Graves

The funerary architecture of the Lawatiya reaffirms the connections of the group to Sindh and Kutch. The oldest extant Lawatiya graves are found in the Lawatiya cemetery in Jibroo, a suburb of Matrah.

The dead body was buried inside a grave pit which was sealed by a rectangular slab. Above this slab a series of additional rectangular slabs were added. The length and width of the additional slabs decreases progressively from the lowest slab to the top slab creating a series of steps in the form of a pyramid. Above the topmost rectangular slab, a qalamdān was added. This Persian term literally means a box or case for storing a pen. The ends of the qalamdān in the grave are in the shape of a pointed arch with two centers. In other cases, the shape of the two ends appears to be closer to an equilateral arch. In most of the surviving examples of such graves from the Lawatiya cemetery in Jibroo, however, the qalamdān is no longer extant above the rectangular slabs. It is impossible to confirm its exact shape or whether the qalamdān had any inscriptions. We know, however, from a surviving example of similar “qalamdān-step” graves in the Khoja Miyan Shah cemetery in the Lyari district of Karachi that an inscription in the Sindhi script associated with the Khojas was usually recorded onto one of the ends of the qalamdān.

The practice of adding an inscription onto the qalamdān is also attested in the graves of the Twelver Shiʿi Khoja cemetery in Kera, Kutch. The Twelver Shiʿi Khoja graveyard in Kera has many “qalamdān-step” graves built with a above a series of rectangular stone slabs. These graves resemble the form of the Lawatiya “qalamdān-step” graves in Jibroo. In Kera, however, the inscriptions at the end of the qalamdān are in Gujarati script.

In both the Karachi example and in Kera, it is not clear if the qalamdān inscriptions were part of the original graves or added during subsequent renovations. Besides the Lawatiya cemetery in Jibroo, in Oman, “qalamdān-step” graves have also been found in the district of Rustaq, in the Al-Batinah region of northern Oman, and in Lughan, a quarter of Muscat outside the walls, beyond Tuyan and al-Rawiyah Fort, west of Hillat al-Shaykh, on the way to al-Wadi al-Kabir.

According to the local inhabitants in Rustaq today, these graves belong to the Lawatiya. This is by no means certain. In the case of Lughan, Lorimer notes at the beginning of the twentieth century, that the quarter was inhabited by Baluchis, which suggests that these graves belong to Baluchis. In Sindh and Baluchistan, however, Baluchi tribes are known to have used a far more elaborate style of the qalamdan-step form known as “Chaukhandi” which flourished between the sixteenth-eighteenth centuries. Large numbers of such Chaukhandi graves are found in graveyards in Baluchistan and in Sindh, the most spectacular examples are in the UNESCO world heritage Makli necropolis in Thatta, lower Sindh. Unlike the simple qalamdan-step graves, Chaukhandi graves involved the use of multiple intricately carved stone slabs. It is therefore possible that the Lughan graves did not belong to Baluchis but to Sindhi Muslims. A colophon of a Quran copied in 1179/1765-1766 by a certain al-Sayyid Muhammad b. Fadil al-Sindhi in Muscat, suggests there was a Sindhi Muslim presence in Muscat. It is likely that the Lughan and Rustaq graves are related to this Sindhi Muslim presence. It is difficult, however, to determine any relationship, other than similar grave architecture, between this Sindhi Muslim presence in Lughan (Muscat) and Rustaq and the Lawatiya lineages who are known to have historically settled in Matrah and were buried in the cemetery in Jibroo.

Written Artefacts in “Khojki Sindhi” Script

Besides Lawatiya graves, surviving written artefacts in “Khojki Sindhi” script among the Lawatiya also point to the historic connections of this group to Sindh and Kutch. Khojki Sindhi script is one of numerous mercantile scripts derived from Brahmi used to record Sindhi. The script is simply referred to by the Lawatiya as “Sindhi” not “Khojki Sindhi”. The term Khojki is used by the Lawatiya to refer to their spoken sociolect. This confirms Shafique Virani’s recent suggestion that the use of “Khojki” and “Khojki Sindhi” in reference to the Sindhi script associated with the Khojas is a neologism. In order, however, to distinguish this script from comparable Sindhi scripts associated with other communities, I have chosen to retain the use of Khojki Sindhi.

So far, Khojki Sindhi script has mainly been studied in relation to its usage to record the ginan genre of devotional hymns of the Khojas of South Asia. The Lawatiya, however, preserve several manuscripts in the script which record elegiac poetry in Sindhi (marsiyo) relating to the martyrdom of al-Husayn. In addition, the Lawatiya have also preserved examples of how Khojki Sindhi script was used for funerary inscriptions on gravestones and for different types of accounting records, business letters and commercial registers. (Continues)

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Zahir Bhalloo – Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), Universität Hamburg

Research for this paper was generously funded by the Sultan Qaboos Higher Centre for Culture and Science (SQCCS) through an Oman Research Grant visiting fellowship at the Leibniz-Zentrum Moderner Orient (ZMO), Berlin. An earlier version of the paper was presented online on 8 July 2021.

Courtesy: Open Edition Journals

Click here for Part-I

The post Oman’s Trans-regional Connections to Sindh and Gujarat – Part-II first appeared on Sindh Courier.

Vadodara, Gujarat

Sujag Sindhi Samiti, a social and cultural organization of Sindhi community of Vadodara (Baroda) city of Gujarat state of India organized its annual cultural program on Monday December 04, 2023 at Dindayal Auditorium.

Main singers were Lata Lalwani from Delhi and Lavi Kamal Bhagat from Ajmer. Amar Tilokani and Nisha Jadwani were anchors.

Saint Mukeshlal, Sain Kamlesh lal, Hiro Kanjwani Councilor, Dr. Chandni Wadhwani and Advocate Anita Amrani were Chief Guest and guests of honor. Vadodara Sindhi Samaj enjoyed a lot at the program.

Haresh Agnani, president of the organization said that Sujag Sindhi Samiti holds Sindhi Cultural Program after Diwali every year since 2014.

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