Correct me if I am mistaken but never before have I been to a crèche in Delhi which is open to children from all sections of society, particularly children of domestics alongside their employers’. It is another thing that the concept has not been able to thrive true to its spirit at this crèche, thanks to a class-conscious society that we are finally.
I am referring to the crèche run by Sindhu Samaj in the city’s Old Rajinder Nagar area. Since it began in a hall on the building’s first floor in 1990s, the endeavour seems to be to attract kids of working mothers, be it the office goer or those who go to houses to work. But all you find now are little ones of domestics left by their mothers on their way to work in the houses nearby. The ‘posh’ crèches that have mushroomed in the area — like all over the city — have attracted the moneyed ones obviously.
R.K. Bhatia, president of Sindhu Samaj Delhi, says, “It has now become a crèche for the children of the maids nearby but everyone is welcome. My grandson used to be in this crèche when his mother would go to work.”
At present, there are 25 kids and two caretakers for them. They feed them, keep them clean, play with them, and put them to sleep till their mothers return in the evening, like any other crèche. The monthly charge per kid is Rs.700, informs Bhatia.
If a professional ‘crèche for maids’ makes it an unique public initiative, the Marriage Information Centre run by Sindhu Samaj serves an important social purpose too. To unravel what truly is the Centre — placed a little before you approach Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, you will have to visit it on a Sunday morning. Nearly a hundred parents belonging to the Sindhi community with children eligible for marriage can be found there coming from across the city every Sunday. With pen in hand, each is all attention, filling up forms seeking grooms and brides for their children. Some others can be found leafing through fat files trawling for a possible match. In the age of matrimonial websites gaining increased popularity, it is certainly an unusual sight.
States Bhatia, “It is one of the most important services we do for the community. There are some other marriage information centres in the city for Sindhis but this one is for free and has the biggest collection of registrations. The Centre also opens on Saturdays.” Bhatia lets out a laugh saying, “So far, the Centre has facilitated hundreds of marriages in the Sindhi community in Delhi.”
Sindhu Samaj is a post Partition creation, which shifted to its present location from the Janpath Barracks in the early ’60s. This July 21, the Samaj would round off 56 years of existence in Delhi. It was born primarily to keep alive Sindhi culture, language and traditions feared to be lost after many Sindhi families had to forego their motherland to present-day Pakistan.
“We were allotted the plot in Rajinder Nagar in 1962. Rajinder Nagar became a natural choice for the Samaj because most Sindhis who came to Delhi after Partition settled down in this area. Sindhis moved to Lajpat Nagar area only after this area got filled up,” says Gul Manglani, a senior member of the community and the vice president of the Samaj. Manglani was a spry youngster when he moved to Rajinder Nagar from Sindh. With a tinge of pride, he says, “The State of birth is mentioned in my passport as Sindh in undivided India.”
Adjacent to the Marriage Information Centre is a prayer hall of the Samaj which houses a decorated idol of Jhulelal, the revered deity of the Sindhis. Jhulelal is seated on a fish. Manohar Karna, General Secretary of the Samaj, is eager to explain it why, “Sindh is a desert area where water is always scarce. So he is the water god, rather the rain god, associated with River Sindhu, so often he is shown riding on a huge fish. He is also known by many names…more the people’s wishes got fulfilled, more names he was decorated with…so he is Uday, Jhoolan, Jhulelal, Jotan Waro, Ghore Wado, etc.” Every Friday evening, an hour-long Jhulelal aarti is performed by a congregation of devotees in the prayer hall.
From July 16 to 25, Sindhu Samaj is celebrating Jhulelal Chaliha and Karna is busy sending out invitations to members. “We have nearly 2000 members, they are from across the city,” he says.
The building also houses a library, a free allopathic and homeopathic dispensary, an auditorium and a marriage hall which can be hired by non-Sindhis too. It has a 21-room dharamshala too, open to people of all communities. “We mostly cater to people who bring patients to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital from outside Delhi,” says Raju Holaramani, manager of the dharamshala. Rajinder Nagar resident Raju has been associated with the Samaj since the 1980s. “When I got associated with the Samaj, it was just a one-room thing here. By and by the building came up with donations from the community living across the world. A lot of dedicated Sindhis worked for it. Today, we also have a widow fund committee here. We offer Rs.600 every two months to 85 widows from across Delhi, some of them are not Sindhis but certainly needy,” she says.
Raju also looks after the crèche and the marriage hall. She does one other important job at the Samaj. “I dress up Jhulelal baba everyday,” she says, the sparkle in the eyes is obvious for this devout Sindhi with family roots in a country on frosty terms for too long now.
