Partition Museum gallery commemorates the lost homeland of Sindh

Chinese-inspired reverse glass paintings from the facade of a Burma teak cupboard.
Chinese-inspired reverse glass paintings from the facade of a Burma teak cupboard.

Summary

A new gallery dedicated to Sindh at The Partition Museum in Delhi weaves a narrative of the community’s journey

When Sindhis fled their homes one fateful night in August 1947, they latched their haveli doors and handed the keys to their neighbours to safeguard them. Little did they know that Partition would cleave the subcontinent, and they would never return. An antique Burma teakwood door from Shikarpur clasped with a lock now stands at The Partition Museum in Delhi’s Dara Shikoh Library as a reminder of the community that lost its home. It’s part of the newly opened permanent gallery, “The Lost Homeland of Sindh".

“While Sindh is a part of the national anthem, there is little to mark the loss of land. The effects of Partition on Punjab and Bengal are well documented. However, Sindh has been a missing link. We want the eighth gallery at the museum to be a space where the community could commemorate their resilient journey," says Kishwar Desai, founder of The Partition Museum and chair of The Arts and Cultural Heritage Trust (TAACHT).

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The gallery displays memorabilia, oral history and immersive art that weaves a narrative of the community’s journey from displacement to getting back on its feet. Helmed by real estate developer Embassy Group and TAACHT, The Lost Homeland of Sindh has been curated by Aruna Madnani, founder of the Bengaluru-based Sindhi Culture Foundation, over two years.

From trunks to vessels carried across the border, remnants of Partition donated by community members occupy a central place in the gallery. Most pieces come with a note on the place they came from and who donated them. Among these material objects is proof of a Shikharpur resident’s paperwork to claim compensation for his lost five-storey home. “Refugees could claim a price for their home after Partition. The document at the gallery takes visitors through the process followed by officers to verify that the haveli belonged to the person. The claim has information like the number of cupboards and the type of flooring. In 1954, he received an amount of 46,977 (from the Union government) for his haveli," says Madnani. Such little nuggets of Sindh are throughlines of the space that also features a peengho, a daybed swing carved from Burma teakwood, which was an integral part of Sindhi ancestral homes and served as a spot for families to spend leisure time together.

Testaments to the community’s business acumen and trade shine in many areas of space. A 30-foot cupboard from Khairpur in Sindh, with Chinese-inspired reverse glass paintings that were picked up on trade trips, holds objects like woven baskets used for picnics or long journeys, vinyanos (woven hand fans) for hot summers in Sindh, kitchen utensils made of bell metal and used by the community for its high copper content, and vases and bowls from Hala, a city in Sindh known for its coloured lacquer woodwork. “Crafted by Muslim craftsmen, these lacquer objects were in great demand in Britain. They were traded far and wide and came to be known as Sindhiwork, and the craftspeople Sindhiworkis. It didn’t stop there. On their travels, businessmen gauged the need for other objects and began crafting them in Sindh. This is how the Sindhi trade network expanded across central Asia. They were way ahead of their time," says Madnani.

The cupboard from Khairpur in Sindh, with Chinese-inspired reverse glass paintings that were picked up on trade trips.
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The cupboard from Khairpur in Sindh, with Chinese-inspired reverse glass paintings that were picked up on trade trips.

However, the community was so focused on surviving and thriving in a new country that they left their arts and culture behind, she adds. At the gallery, several objects serve as a reminder of Sindh’s forgotten crafts and heritage. Visitors are welcomed into the space by a muhari, a Sindhi-style balcony made from a carved wooden frame with jaalis and filigreed grilles. These balconies were said to add grandeur to the home while keeping it private and protected from the scorching summer. A map handmade by artisan Adam Abdul Jabbar Khatri of Dhamadka in Kachchh showcases different regions of Sindh in patterns of ajrakh painted with vegetable dye, and the Indus river in mirror embroidery crafted from shiny mica from the desert sand. The hallway is filled with music by Bhagat Kanwar Ram, a revered Sindhi Sufi singer and poet.

The gallery narrates stories of post-Partition life, when Sindhis peregrinated across India, through immersive installations. Thousands of refugees set up their homes in the military barracks of Ulhasnagar. A matrix of LED lights conceptualised by artists’ group CAMP traces the community’s migration patterns, what it did for work and pleasure, and how Ulhasnagar developed into a full-fledged city and hub for business.

A digital artwork shows how the community was left with nothing barring a few objects they carried back. Titled Saline Notations by Reena Saini Kallat, it lays out a directory of residents from pre-Partition Karachi, including their professions and addresses. A wave slowly effaces everything but their name. “The loss of home and a homeland makes it a double loss. In my meetings with survivors of Partition, I see a strong desire to visit Sindh. My father would tell me, ‘I can close my eyes and see my home’. We hope to bring back the community’s memories through this museum," says Madnani.

The gallery will be open to public from 6 October, at The Partition Museum in Delhi, 10am-5pm.

Shradha Shahani is a Mumbai-based lifestyle journalist.

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