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Duration: 00:19:41; Aspect Ratio: 1.250:1; Hue: 146.866; Saturation: 0.008; Lightness: 0.346; Volume: 0.207; Cuts per Minute: 23.000; Words per Minute: 38.232
The dargah of father-son, the sufi poets Bedil and Bekas in Sukkar-Rohri.
Darazza houses the shrine of sufi poet Sachal Sarmast. These 19th-century mystics are revered and worshipped by both Sindhi Hindus and Muslims.
Pakhi Bhag Pahinjo Chadeenda
The encampments of Shah, Sami and Dalpat too are being left behind
They are now very far away from the Daraaza Shrine,
Cut to Bombay. Depicted here with the iconic art deco facades of Marine Drive.
Mumbai's governor has assured Prime minister Nehru that the city had preparations to receive 10.000 refugees from Pakistan. In the initial phase many came from Punjab. The exodus from Sindh happened in later phases. Military tents
While from Karachi the exodus was to Bombay and ports in Gujarat via the sea, land migrations from Hyderabad and other places was by train from Mirpur Khas to Marwar and then on to cities in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Indore, Mt. Abu and Kubernagar camp in Ahmedabad housed many displaced Sindhis.
The influx continued and Bombay was faced with accommodating more than 2.5 lakhs of displaced persons from Sindh. Instead of being provided refuge in Bombay, the families found themselves bundled into military trucks and taken 43 miles away to a military camp on the outskirts of Kalyan. While the Kalyan (later Ulhasnagar) barracks, were equipped to once accommodate 25000 British army soldiers in transit, it had to now accommodate an overwhelming number of families. Thus began the "new life" or Sindhis who would soon realise Ulhasnagar would be their permanent and not temporary home.
The World War II transit camp of Kalyan was officially declared a township on 8th August 1949. Named after the Ulhas river, Ulhasnagar or "city of joy" became a symbol of Sindhi enterprise and resilience. Small cottage industries in the barracks were started by women who took over the mantle of family sustenance.
Arjun Hingorani, who is credited as co-director of Abana, wanted to become a movie star! He appears here in this unforgettable "item number" from the film, thats filmed in Ulhasnagar. Trained at Ealing Studios and apprenticed at Bombay Talkies, Arjun moved on to become a commercial film director. At the time of making this film he was still commuting from Ulhasnagar camp to the film set in Bombay
The satirical "laughing in the face of adversity" lyrics are written by the Poet Parsram Zia who lived till his death in Camp no 3. Sung by Asaan Nerani.
The pan reveals the barracks and the five military camps of Ulhasnagar over which the city will literally be built. In 1958 - when this is filmed - even though Ulhasnagar is a township and part of the Bombay State civic amenities and infrastructures like electricity, roads, water supply, sewage, garbage clearance and sanitation remained inadequate and challenging.
The closest station was Vithalwadi station, and hundreds of residents from Ulhasnagar camp had to walk or take a bus first to James Landing or Vithalwadi and travel to VT station in Bombay for livelihood and education. Many hawked the wares made in Ulhasnagar including mithai and dry snacks, and clothing. Here, the singer is teasing a young school/college going girl for traveling to Bombay without a pass.
...and they continue to jive outside the barracks.
Camp life broke all caste, class and regional and linguistic barriers. Here one merged to form a common Sindhi identity.
Floats of large fish on which an idol of Jhulelal under an umbrella in Ulhasnagar on Cheti Chand, or Sindhi New year. Hemu Kalani Gate.
Ram Panjwani
script
Glimpses of Sindhi Culture
This 1974 documentary directed by Issar was filmed primarily in Ulhasnagar. These "row houses" with their angaan or porches were initially long barracks, each allotted 10 x 10 foot area bifurcated by jute cloth and bed linen.
The women showed extreme fortitude and resilience by contributing through cottage industries by making papad, biscuits, sweets, pickles and other Sindhi delicacies which were hawked in trains by their children. The men were engaged in tertiary industries to fulfil the needs of the nearby factories. Thus the entire family was engaged in rehabilitation and small business. Ulhasnagar grew into a feeder city servicing both Bombay anmd the Ambarnath/Bhiwandi industrial belts.
This pan shot of Ulhasnagar reveals a city built literally on the foundations of barracks and the layout of the five camps. To this day, Ulhasnagar maintains pin-codes corresponding to the five camps, and the municipal street and road signs are written in the Persio-Arabic Sindhi script.
While being engaged in traditional skills like tailoring and embroidery making the Sindhi ventured into unknown terrain of small scale manufacturing for the nearby Industries.This risk taking ability was natural in their nature where they were not afraid to explore new opportunities. Ulhasnagar became a feeder city, servicing not just Bombay, but supplying small parts to feed the factories in the industrial belts of Ambernath and Bhiwandi. Everything from pen refills, packing cartons, crown and medicine bottle caps was manufactured in small workshops.
Explore some of the unique trajectories from and via Ulhasnagar in the room inside.
archival footage from the 20's or 30's of the Indus river and the shrine of Uderolal.
chej dance, during cheti chand. archival footage, from Sindh
Lokumat kishanchand Chellaram trust, Chanrai trust.
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