'Jodiya Pava' (Double Flute): Common musical instrument in Sindh and Kutch

November 28, 2017     Edmonton, Canada

Jodiya Pava is a unique musical instrument commonly played in the Kutch and Sindh. It includes two flutes played by one person. It is so sweet to listen and requires a specific training which some Sindhis and Kutchis have got by heredity. 

During my recent visit to India, I got a chance to meet Ismail, a man in his fifties who plays 'Jodiya Pava'. He lives in a small village called Zura. He learnt it in his childhood from his father who used to work as shepherd. They are called as 'Jat', a Muslim community in Kutch known for their Shepherd occupation, handicrafts and unique ornaments the females wear.

Sindhi folk songs generally has 'Jodiya pava' as a supportive musical instrument along with either dholak, an Indian drum and Manjira. I personally like Sindhi folk songs. 

Ismail Jat, playing 'Jodiya Pava' 

'Jodiya Pava' artist playing in a program organized near Hamirsar lake, Bhuj, Kutch

Indus Valley civilization: connecting Kutch and Sindh

November 28, 2017   Edmonton, Canada

Indus valley civilization is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It is mainly developed on the banks of Sindhu river.

Mohen-jo-daro (mould of dead) is situated in Sindh province of Pakistan. It is declared as UNESCO world heritage site. Built around 2500 BCE, it is considered as one of the largest sites on the Indus valley civilization. It is evident from the architecture of the excavated city, that people lived a highly modern life that too 5500 years ago. Straight streets, well designed homes, wells, the great bath, etc made it so special. It is difficult to imagine such development at that time. How a city ended up in to the earth is still a mystery. But one thing is for clear that the people of Sindh and surroundings are the ancestors of people who made and lived in such a amazing city. We should have proud for that.

Dholavira is another indus valley civilization site, situated in the Kutch district of Gujarat state of India. It is sign of another harappan archeological monument which is built around the same time as Mohen-jo-daro. It's speciality is the water reservoirs. Since the area is drought prone, people at that time planned to reserve the rain fresh water. I got surprised when I saw the site first time and it made me so happy to think that, yes I belong to you, yes my ancestors have made such a great architecture.

One site is in today's Sindh and other in today's Kutch. Both are in different countries but have been developed at almost same time. This is one more evidence of the historical similarity between Kutch and Sindh.

1. Great bath of Mohen-jo-daro, 2. The bird eye view of the schematic city of Mohen-jo-daro

Source of pictures: Google images

Photographs of excavated site of Dholavira

Source of pictures: Google images

Idea of this Blog

November 26, 2017 Edmonton, Canada

Recently I visited my back home in India. I born and raised in a very small village edged to the Rann of Kutch with name NIRONA. I met a person with name Laljibhai, father of my school teacher. He narrated me full story about their migration from Sindh and about culture of Sindh.
I got interest in the Sindhi culture as there are so many similarities in the Sindhi culture and the Kutch: my own culture including the language. Kutchi and Sindhi are spoken by almost similar way except some words and the pronunciation.
It made me curious to know about Sindh and it's culture and it's comparison with Kutch. I ordered some books from Amazon and now I have started reading. As I am reading more, it is making me more interested. Throughout my blog posts I will be posting my knowledge and understanding about Sindhi culture, Post-partition experiences and about my own Kutch.

Source of Image: 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Bombay_Prov_north_1909.jpg/732px-Bombay_Prov_north_1909.jpg