Food is that one thing that links every Sindhi family back to its lost traditions. Most Sindhi families eat a wide range of world foods, but have also carried the lost-homeland recipes with them to every corner of the planet.

In this final episode of the Tapestry podcast’s first season, you are going to enjoy mirchi pakoras a long way from home, samosas as a starter at a Chinese restaurant with devoted Sindhi customers in Iquique, and Indonesian gado-gado – where else but in Chile.

This is a conversation that takes us beyond papad. It takes us beyond saee bhaji, kadhi, kok pallo, dal pakwan, singhar mithai, gheyar and the other familiars. Step in and travel across Sindh along with Sindhi pop-up chef Sapna Ajwani and get a whiff of flavours that you are going to find familiar, nostalgic even, even when you’re encountering them for the very first time.

People think of Sindhis as committed to business and money.

There are many high points in this episode, here are a few:

-       the reception HK Kirpalani received when he came home to Hyderabad after having been accepted into the Indian Civil Service, an occasion of joy and celebration for the entire province

-       Rabindranath Tagore and some connections between Sindh and Bengal

-       a glimpse into the long heritage of education the Amils of Sindh have

-       the diary of a Sindhworki – some important notes and a gentleman's guide on how to do business

Even 75 years after Partition took place in 1947, and despite the huge number of Sindhis affected by it, Sindh has not yet been

Sindh was the final frontier of the British empire, the last province to be conquered. This episode is about how the Hindus fared under British rule, the changes that laid the ground for Partition – and how freedom was won. As always, there are many stories from different sources including some really dramatic ones of life at the time and how people stood up to fight for freedom.

A very special guest, Dr Subash Bijlani, joins us and speaks about life under the British and his family’s contribution to the freedom movement, with many light-hearted moments as well as some solemn ones.

This episode, about the centuries-old global trading networks centred on Sindh, has stories and a lot of light-hearted conversation, as always. But the high point

Sindhi Hindus lost their homeland to Partition on the grounds of religion. However, religion was never a strongly divisive factor in pre-Partition

In this episode, the Tapestry podcast explores the syncretic fabric of the community; the fundamental embracing of Sikhism, Sufism – the goodness

Esteemed guest on the episode, anthropologist Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro showcases this culture, speaks about his extensive documentation of the multi-faith shrines of Sindh, and also his fascinating research on the Qalandar cult.

Read more on this topic on Chuharsing, Bakshusing and the sixty Guru Granth Sahibs

https://sindhstories.wordpress.com/2021/12/20/chuharsing-bakshusing-and-the-sixty-guru-granth-sahibs/

and in Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro’s Friday Times column https://www.thefridaytimes.com/author/zulfiqar-ali-kalhoro/

Books by Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro:

1. Pothohar Ki Yaaden Aur Yadgaren (Urdu) 2023. Waraq Publications: Chakwal

2. Saints, Sufis and Shrines: The Mystical Landscape of Sindh (2022) published by Endowment Fund trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh,

3. Memories, Mystics and Monuments of Pothohar (2022) Emel Publications, Islamabad

4. Glimpses of Sindhi Heritage (2021) published by Silk Road Centre, Islamabad ISBN: 978-969-23597-0-2

5. Perspectives on Kalhora History published by Fiction House Lahore (2020) ISBN:978-969-562-819-5.

6. The Rock Art of Karachi  (2020) published by Sindh published by Directorate of Antiquities and Archaeology Karachi (2020) ISBN:978-969-8100-52-0

7. Reflections on the Pothohar Heritage (2020) published by Emel Publications, Islamabad

8. Wall Paintings of Sindh from Eighteenth to twentieth century (2020) published by Silk Road Centre, Islamabad ISBN:978-969-8100-59-9.

9. Symbols in Stone: The Rock art of Sindh (2018) published by Endowment Fund trust for Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh, Karachi ISBN:

10. Archaeology, Art and Religion in Sindh  (2018 ) published by Culture and Tourism department, Government of Sindh, Karachi (2018) ISBN: 978-969-8100-40-2 https://archive.org/details/archaeologyartandreligioninsindh/page/n3/mode/2up  includes a number of photographs by the author

11. Memorial Stones Tharparkar published  (2017 ) by Endowment Fund trust for Preservation of the  Heritage of Sindh, Karachi (2017) ISBN: 978-969-9860-10-2.

12. Studies in Kalhora History, Economy and Architecture (2017) published by Sindh Books Karachi  ISBN:978-969-7762-00-2.

13. Perspectives on the art and architecture of Sindh (2014)  published by Endowment Fund trust for  Preservation of the Heritage of Sindh, Karachi (2014) ISBN: 978-969-9860-05-8.

The Sindhi Hindus left their homes and everything in them – but they carried so much in their hearts. Their feelings of love, nostalgia, and longing, for the places they had lost shows itself in many different ways.

This episode shows the sad, interesting and even funny aspects of this phenomenon. It shows the ways in which Hindus of Sindh built these places that they had to leave behind forever. And it gives brief glimpses into some of the places of Sindh which in so many ways crossed the border too, along with the exiled ones!

The Sindhi story is so little known that almost everything about it has aspects that are surprising, interesting and useful to know. In this first episode of the Tapestry podcast, Saaz Aggarwal and Tarun Sakhrani talk about why they decided to start it, and begin the process of restoring the lost legacy by sharing some wonderful information and stories that you are going to value and cherish.

This episode is a casual but thought-provoking conversation, and topics range from the ubiquitous “Sindhi and the snake”, an introduction to the inimitable Bhai Pratap, why this podcast is named “Tapestry” – and many more.

Listen – and enjoy!

What Sindhis lost when Partition took place in 1947 is only now being gradually understood. It wasn’t just material loss and loss of dignity! Sindhis also lost their language. They lost their culture. Even their history was lost and distorted.

To be deprived of one’s past is to inherit an impoverished present.

For Sindhis, this podcast is the opportunity to reconnect with a long-lost legacy, and gain a better understanding of who you are.

If you are not a Sindhi, here is an important piece of history which will enrich you with learning and inspiration, even as it engages and fascinates you.