Stories of Sindh

Born in 1938 in Karachi, Sindh, British India, Shankar Sukhani was a mere nine years old when his family left their hometown for Jaipur, following the 1947 partition. If there’s one word that sums up Shankar’s memories, it’s the word “green”.  Green for the pastures and land that he fondly associates with Karachi. Green for the wealth of the community in Karachi. And green for how the Sindhis who left their hometown prospered in countries far and wide.   Shankar currently resides in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and this is his story. Four generations of family in Malaysia

Hello, I'm Payal Sadhwani. Stories of Sindh is a platform to document stories of partition, particularly out of Sindh and from Sindhis. I started Stories of Sindh because as I grew older, I realised that I knew very little (if anything at all) about my heritage as a Sindhi. As I started reading up, especially on partition, I noticed that while there were many partition stories documented, they were very few from the province of Sindh and from Sindhi people - and I was afraid that these important historical stories, many of which are oral history, may become lost as time passes. So, I decided to start documenting these stories. I know that the partition stories don't just come out of Sindh and from Sindhis, but that so many more millions of lives were affected. While I am starting by documenting stories from Sindhis, I will be very keen to hear stories from others as well. My only regret is that I never got to hear my grandparents' stories, and I hope that this platform will...

Bhagwan Sadhwani was born in 1936 in Hyderabad, Sindh, British India, the second son in a family of four boys and one girl. Following the partition of British India, Bhagwan’s family moved to the island of Penang in Malaysia, after a brief transition in Jodhpur and Bombay, India. Despite having to leave his home and start over in a new place and country, Bhagwan’s positive and optimistic nature has never ceased – this comes through clearly even when he talks about having to leave home and move to different countries – what he recounts are happy moments playing with the neighbouring children, taking walks on the beach close to their temporary home, and expresses his gratitude for the opportunities that his adopted home has provided. Bhagwan currently resides in Singapore, and this is his story.