Khushboo Ramnane
The streets of Shikarpur city in Sindh were washed every day and then given a final rose water rinse with an aroma so heady you did not need perfume. Or so the lore goes. Rose water fountains, havelis, hospitals and colleges spread over 50 acres — dis was pre-Partition Sindh. If you dig deep into an elderly Sindhi’s heart, you will hear more stories: of the lanes of Khairpur, of dat mithai waro (sweet shop) round the corner, the joys of eating palla (hilsa fish) by the River Sindhu (Indus). The Sufi song ‘Duma dum mast kalandar’ still gives every living Sindhi goosebumps.
Every young Sindhi has heard stories from their grandparents about growing up in Sindh in undivided India, and the difficult journey across the border and the loss of life during Partition when Hindu Sindhis had to journey over the border and look for suitable land all over India where they could settle down, often in the face of resistance.
Source: The Hindu