Sindhis celebrate mother tongue and cultural heritage

DUBAI: Sindhi diaspora from around the world came together to celebrate their mother tongue and cultural heritage at an event to mark the International Mother Language Day.

The event, organised by Sambara Events and titled ‘Sindhi Abani Boli’ (Sindh is our ancestral language), was held at the Sheikh Rashid Auditorium.

UAE’s prominent businessman and philanthropist Dr Bu Abdullah was the chief guest of the event, which was attended by a large number of people.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Bu Abdullah praised the efforts of the Sindhi community to preserve and promote their language and culture, and emphasised the importance of cultural diversity and inclusiveness.

Well-known Sindhi intellectual and writer Mehtab Akber Rashdi emphasised the importance of the Sindhi language and the challenges it faces in modern times. She expressed happiness at seeing the vibrant Sindhi community of UAE celebrating their language.

Sindhi fiction writer Abbas Korejo’s novel ‘Wann: The Tree’ was also launched during the function.

Prominent writers and intellectual Dr Ram Buxani, Mehtab Akber Rashdi, Asha Chand, Bhavan Sindhi, Nisar Khokhar, and Bakhshan Mahranvi praised the writer’s significant contributions to Sindhi language and literature.

Sambara Events also presented lifetime achievement awards to two distinguished members of the community.

The first award was presented to Koshi Lalwani, a renowned Sindhi poet and writer from India who has contributed significantly to promote the Sindhi language through media and art. The second award was presented to Bibi Bagri, an educationist and social worker from Pakistan who has worked tirelessly to promote education and gender equality for the backward and neglected indigenous Bagri community of Sindh.

The event was filled with captivating performances by famous singers from Pakistan and India, including Rajab Faqir, Mohit Lalwani, Faiza Ali and Sheeraz Ali. Their soulful renditions of Sindhi folk and classical music were greeted with thunderous applause from the audience.

In addition to the singers, the function also featured performances by popular Sindhi comedians Ali Gul Mallah, Asghar Khoso and Hyder Qadri. Their hilarious acts and witty one-liners had the audience in splits and added to the overall festive mood of the event.

The Sindhi community in Dubai came together to celebrate their culture and language with great enthusiasm and fervour, making the event a grand success.

In their welcome speeches, Javed Korejo and Imaran Tunio of Sambara Events thanked everyone for attending and making the event memorable.

The stage performers and musicians were presented with shields to appreciate their contribution to the areas of Sindhi music, stage art, and promotion of the contemporary Sindhi arts.

The event concluded with the cultural Sindhi festive song of ‘Ho Jamalo’ performed by all the stage artists and musicians together.

The Sambara Events is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote and preserve the Sindhi language and culture in UAE. It organises various events including cultural festivals and literary gatherings to create awareness about the richness of Sindhi heritage and encourage people to take pride in their roots.