Stories of Sindh

Geeta Balani (maiden name: Leela Naraindas Chandiramani) was born on 17th December 1937 in Hyderabad, Sindh, British India. Geeta was nine years old when Partition happened – news that her father was privy to, thanks to the nature of his job. When conditions started deteriorating, resulting in an unsafe environment for the family to be in, the family packed up and left for Bangalore, India. Today, Geeta resides in Singapore and this is her story. Geeta (centre) with her daughter and son Geeta Balani was the youngest child of Naraindas and Lachmi Chandiramani. She had two older sisters and a brother. Geeta’s father worked as a Postmaster in the local post office. He was a well-known and respected man in the community. He had a kind, caring and helpful nature. According to Geeta, he “helped everybody”. Her mother was a religious woman who read the Guru Granth daily. Geeta remembers that they lived in a big house in the Qillo area, which was considered a posh locality. Their ne...

Hemandas Punjabi was born in the year 1933 in Karachi, Sindh, British India in a big family of two brothers and seven sisters. Hemandas was 14 years of age when Partition happened and a serious incident spurred his family to leave Pakistan for a safer environment. Today, Hemandas lives in California, the United States of America and this is his story. A recent photo of Hemandas Hemandas Punjabi was born to parents Hiranand and Gomibai Punjabi.  He describes life in Karachi as very happy and pleasant, where his father owned a cloth shop, where he was enrolled in school and had reached the ninth grade, and where the neighbours were friendly. But all that was disrupted when Partition happened. On that fateful day, Hemandas recalls a series of explosions in his neighbourhood. This was enough to spur his family to pack up and vacate their home. While they felt extremely sad to be leaving their lives in Karachi – and their homeland – behind, they knew it was necessary to do so. Hemandas ...