Soc, Her: BOOKS at SINDHI SAMMELAN, FUNCTIONS & ASSOCIATIONS

[Rohit Lekhraj Lalwani <Rohitlalwa@AOL.COM>]

Addressing Friends and Countrymen of Sindh, Jaisamtani  writes-
May24(Sin-intl):
<
<< A person must not be Chairman or President or  office-bearer of a Sindhi
Association, just because he is a jolly good fellow or has big bank account .
That helps, but better also to know about culture, and spread the knowledge
around.>>
>>
Personally, I shall be happy if a Chairman or President or  office-bearer of
Sindhi Association is  simply a  jolly good fellow with a big Bank account .
A jolly good fellow with a big Bank account, is more likely  to send at his
own expense, books of culture  to members of the Association, particularly at
election time.
Seriously speaking, Samtani’s posting deserves a fuller answer, and I think
the following:
(A)  a Sindhi Association is a failure if it  merely is engaged  in dining
and wining or social chit-chat or a little prattling about culture. Stocking
and lending (or even selling ) good books of culture to members is a
necessary duty of an Association. Individuals cannot always afford expensive
books like Gidwani’s Return of the Aryans which costs Rs.300/ in India, but
with mailing charges to  USA, it comes to more, plus the hassle of ordering
from India. Similarly other Culture books can also prove to be costly for
individuals. Apart from cost, let us think of the added incentive to everyone
to read many culture books if the Sindhi Associations were to make it free
and easy for everyone to borrow books to be stocked  by the Asociation.
(B) Someone sent me a private message  to say that compared to all other
communities, Sindhis know the very least about their culture inspite of the
sorry fact that  most Sindhis who are outside Pakistan are refugees , and
those who are  in Pakistan are deprived of human rights, whatever their
religion. His point was that normally, refugees and deprived people remember
their culture much more than people who don’t lose their home-land or are
treated shabbily in their homeland. He gave many instances of Jewish,
Armenian and Balenese people to show how remembrance of one’s own culture
multiplies if you are forced to leave your homeland or treated badly while
you are in your homeland. He also said that parents, educaters, leaders of
Sindhi community are at fault. I don’t know how far he is right but the fact
is that non-Sindhi Associations are far more active to spread knowledge of
their culture among its membership and even to outsiders.
I wish to add that our Sindhi Associations could do much to keep up the flame
of our culture.
(C) Sindhi language is giong, going, gone (though I am sure, it will never be
 totally gone). Who will keep alive what remains of Sindhi culture? Sindhi
Associations have great responsibility in this matter.
(D) Sammelans, functions come and go. They are excellent for marking the
progress, and even making books of culture available on sale. But
round-the-year, we should  rely on Sindhi Associations. So Sindhi Sammelans
should not fail Sindhis. Sindhi functions & Melas should not  fail Sindhis .
Most important:  Sindhi Associations should  not fail Sindhis.

A thought comes to me, and I don’t know if it is practical. If Sammelans
arrange Culture Book-sale by obtaining books at great discount from printers
or publishers, and arranging cheap delivery, is it not possible for Sammelan
to re-sell  Culture books to Sindhi Associations at that discounted prices.
That may make it easy for Associations to have those books cheap for lending
to membership.
Or do you all think, this is all  too big burden on Sammelans and Sindhi
Associations ?
Rohit
______________________________________________________________________
Quotation:
“Speeches die. Writing remains. Culture lives - not through a dream, not
through a vision, and not even through the varied conflicting voices of the
multitude of survivors, but through an honest book by an inspired
writer.”........Carl Sandenburg  - ‘Cultures  Lost and Forgotten’.
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