|
A Face in the Crowd ’Rochee’ as he is commonly known in neighborhood is a hundred percent true Sindhi. It was on April 4, 1967, when Indian parliament resolved to include Sindhi language in 8th schedule of Indian constitution and accorded it status of one of the fifteen national languages of India, this man ’Rochee’ decided to dedicate his remaining life for the exclusive cause of "Sindhiyat" He solemnly took pledge on that day : - That he shall always speak in Sindhi only, with all fellows Sindhis. He shall severe any kind of relationship with any Sindhi person who prefers not speaking in Sindhi with him.
Years back as a kid, I use to frequent his library for novels and magazines. "National Library" as it was known then was housed in a small wooden cabin, always stacked with books, magazines and periodicals in Sindhi, Hindi and English. In fact this is the place which drew me to Sindhi literature and Sindhiyat. From 4th April 1967, he re-named his library as "Sindhu Library" and dedicated it to his ’cause’ or "Sindhiyat" only. All non-Sindhi books, magazines and periodicals were disposed/sold off and were replaced with Sindhi books, magazines and periodicals. Overnight he changed all the signboards, nameplates, notice boards, tariff cards and even his personal visiting cards to Sindhi language. For him, Ulhasnagar became "Sindhunagar", the name for township as being demanded by the local Sindhis from its very inception. He never attends any Sindhi function, wedding or program, for which he has not received the invitation card in Sindhi language. (He did not attend the marriage of his cousin because the invitation card was printed in English only !) Today, although his library is a loss-making venture, he still continues with it as a voluntary commitment. He has a mixed collection of more than 3,500 books in Sindhi on various subjects. Some of the books are indeed rare and may not be available elsewhere. Beside this, he has albums of Sindhi periodicals, a really fascinating collection! According to him, currently there are 12 daily newspapers and 70 periodicals being published in Sindhi from various cities and towns in India. Mr. Rochiram Tirathdas Khanwani "Sindhu", was born on 1st October, 1929 at Hyderabad, Sindh is a humble gentleman and a selfless person, he has relinquished all the pleasures of life for the sole cause of ’Sindhiyat’ without aspiring for any kind of publicity and public exposure. As per his registered will (written in Sindhi language), he has bequeathed all his treasure (The priceless collection of Sindhi books to Mr. Jagdeesh Lachhani, a Sindhi writer of Ulhasnagar, who in turn may hand over these to Department of Sindhology. In his will, he has also specifically desired that after his death, his body must be purified not with Ganga-Jal but Sindhu-jal, which he has brought from Sindh and preserved. He has also mentioned that after cremation, his ashes be immersed in river Ulhas, which according to him is second most pious river after river-Sindhu. Where few people know that when he visited Sindh, 35 years after partition to meet his mother and brothers, he was virtually hounded by Pakistani police because of his background, which has very strong leaning to "Jeeye Sindh" movement. Hiu insanu sachu pachu asaanje Sindhu maata jo likalu-laal-u ahe. Anybody desirous of contacting him for any Sindhi-related information may please do so preferably in Sindhi at: Rochee, Sindhu Library, Vensi Jagnani Marg, Sindhu Nagar (Ulhasnagar) 421001, India. Personally, I would appreciate if you people write to him for commendable services he is rendering to Sindhi community. Asseen Sindhi hameshaha gadu, Ramesh U. Kateja |