Heritage, YA: Learning Sindhi this summer

[Gul Agha <agha@CS.UIUC.EDU>]

While we were forced to cancel the formal course offering in intensive
Sindhi for the summer this year, we have worked out an arrangement to
further the cause of Sindhi studies, and serve the students who had
planned to study Sindhi this summer.

If all goes well, Ms. Vimmi Sadarangani will be coming as a Visiting
Scholar by the end of June and stay for July and August here at the
University of Illinois.  During this time, she will develop course
materials suitable for people who have grown up in North America and
who do not have a prior background in Sanskirit-related languages.
She will also tutor in a small group individuals wishing to learn
Sindhi.  This activity will also allow her to test the teaching
materials she will be working on developing.  (Regular UIUC students
who wish to get academic credit will be able to do so by special
arrangement).

I am sure she will take the opportunity to attend the Sindhi Samellan
as well, if we are able to work out the extra funding for that trip.
I hope that her involvement and enthusiasm will facilitate planning
for next year.  (Ms. Sadarangani will be receiving a stipend to cover
her expenses, funded in part by the those contributed generously
towards this effort earlier.  But it must be acknowledged that this
will be a labor of love for her as she is doing this despite not
receiving the teaching salary she would have for a regular course
offering).

So we are moving forward and you might want to consider how you can
use this opportunity:

-- Consider coming to Urbana-Champaign this summer to learn Sindhi.

-- Acquire materials to learn Sindhi as they become available later
this summer.

At the same time, please consider contributing to this effort in the
future.  For example, if each Sindhi Association sponsored even one
summer student fellowship, we could have a regular program of Sindhi
going.  This would be a step towards establishing one or more acadamic
department for Sindhi studies at American Universities.  As I see it,
it is not just a matter of enriching our own future generations with
the wisdom of our ancestors expressed in their own words, it is also a
question of sharing this heritage to enrich the society we live in --
an expression of our gratitude for what it has provided us with.

As I was listening to Professor Ram Punjwani's soulful rendition of
a Shah's dictum:

'liilaae je na lahiin, ta varii bbi liilaaeju
aasro ma laaejju, sajjarnu bbaajhiindarru gharno'

It reminded me of the need to persist in our efforts and never let
disappointment turn to defeatism.  So let's journey on..

----
sadaaiin ggaddu,

Gul

====================================================================
Professor Gul A. Agha                  Phone: (217)244-3087
Director, Open Systems Laboratory      FAX:   (217)244-6869
Department of Computer Science         Email: agha@cs.uiuc.edu
1304 W Springfield Ave                        -------
University of Illinois                 Secretary: Bonnie Howard
Urbana, IL 61801                                  (217)333-1043
http://www-osl.cs.uiuc.edu             <howard@cs.uiuc.edu>