The story of Sindh, despite its fascinating layers and nuances, is generally ignored or trivialized. The tremendous fragmentation that followed Partition created confusion, clouding the atmosphere with misinterpretations, one-sided narratives and unflattering nostalgia steeped in unresolved trauma. As new generations responded to the call of their ancestors, a quiet revival began.
One of the most notable new titles is from Ritu Hemnani lion of the sky (HarperCollins, 2024). Written in free verse, it brings to life the lost world of pre-partition Hyderabad (Sindh) through the eyes of a young boy. On page 143, as the story continues:
It’s bad if you break a kite string
It’s bad if the stitches break
If you can’t calculate, it’s bad
If you block the railroad, it’s bad
I probably don’t know very much
About the line this British guy is drawing
But I know one thing.
This is bad.
The Hong Kong-based author, who has never lived in India, vividly depicts the domestic and political world of pre-partition Sindh: a celebratory activity, the gendered expectations of a merchant family, passionate participation in the freedom movement – the treacherous line.
Have a more compelling title sim sim By Geet Chaturvedi, translated by Anita Gopalan (Penguin, 2023). The hero – that strange old man, trembling and dripping, half in the past and half in myth – symbolizes the terrible loneliness of exile. This classic Sindhi story is one of the finest contemporary explorations of displacement.
For readers seeking a deeper understanding of partition in Sindh, Veera Hiranandani’s night diary And Amil and after (Penguin 2018, 2024) provide rare insight. Written for young readers, they balance tenderness with historical accuracy, portraying friendship, family and courage amidst the fear and confusion of Partition, and dealing fearlessly and sensitively with death and violence.
Designer Nina Sabnani is equally thought-provoking Mukund and RiyazUsing Sindhi appliqué patchwork and simple words, Sabnani created a gentle meditation on a memory her father shared a few years before his death: his best friend, and what happened to his hat. The 30-page picture book and eight-minute animated film sparkles with color, tinged with sadness.
Other novels that explore Sindh’s landscape of loss and renewal include meeting with koki By Subhadra Anand (Author Upfront 2023), tattoo on my breast by Ravi Rai (Bloomsbury, 2019, thick by Nilita Vachani (Other Press NY 2008); Swing Written by Isha Merchant (Notion Press 2023) Notably when the author was 12 years old.
However, the most authentic glimpse of Sindh comes through translation. etc by Guli Sadarangani (1928-2017), translated by Rita Kothari (Zubaan, 2025), revives a lost literary voice as well as the intellectual world flourishing in Sindh. Ittehad (1941) is full of progressive ideas – women’s freedom, choice in marriage, spiritual rather than sectarian faith, labor not as subordinate but as partner.
pages of my lifeThe memoirs of Popati Hiranandani (1924–2005), translated by Jyoti Panjwani (OUP 2010), describes with Popati’s trademark candor and enthusiasm boyhood, education, partition and professional life as a writer and academic. One memorable anecdote describes a discussion about a prospective lover’s dowry, to which she calmly replies that since she earns more than him, perhaps her family should give her a dowry.
Guli Sadarangani and Popti Hiranandani belonged to the Amil community of Sindh, which valued education, reform and social consciousness, the history of which is told in my book. Amil of Sindh (Black-and-White Fountain (BWF) 2019).
Read more: ‘Sunrise Over Wallywade’: A Historical Record and an Intimate Family Account
stories of yerwada jail (BWF, 2013), by the prolific Rita Shahani (1935–2013), still beloved today in Lost Motherland, is also important. Through memories from within his family, this book offers a glimpse of the passionate involvement of Sindhis in the independence movement – only to face permanent exile after independence. I cannot speak or read Sindhi and I have translated this book with the help of the author. She read aloud while I made notes, and together we continually refined the draft until we were both satisfied.
The best translation so far is by Rita Kothari unlimited memoriesA curated anthology of short stories set in the aftermath of Partition, told from different vantage points – the departures, the gruesome farewells, the humiliations in refugee camps, and the desolation of those left behind. They are full of pain and nostalgia, emotions almost never expressed in Sindhi families.
freedom and cracks (Sahitya Akademi, 1998), a collection of partition poetry, is similar, translated by pioneers Anju Makhija and Maneka Shivdasani, working with Sindhi poet Arjan “Shad” Mirchandani. Like me, none of the translators can read or speak Sindhi, a poignant commentary on the fragmented lives of Sindhis.
Other books weave family history, oral traditions, and lost geography into personal testimony. my sindh by Shakuntala Bharwani (BWF 2022) blends essays, family stories and reflections on colonial texts in a blend of nostalgia and scholarship. refugees in their own country By Sunayana Pal (BWF 2022) Sindhi expresses the experience of partition in illustrated poetry – beautiful, dignified, filled with sorrow. Sunrise on Valleyway (BWF 2025) by Sushil Gajwani is based on a camp originally built for Polish refugees, connecting it to the global story of displacement.
In Sindhi Tapestry: An Anthology of Reflections on Sindhi Identity (BWF 2020) I received contributions from 60 individuals of different ages, backgrounds and professions, exploring a wide range of heritage, displacement and related topics. Many remember being taunted: “If you see a snake and a snake, which one should you kill first?”
Many of the books on this list are self-published, which in no way lacks bravado or ability, but is the result of courageous efforts by survivors of a disaster to keep their culture alive. The most notable exception is Nandita Bhavnani construction of exile (Tranquebar Press, 2018). A comprehensive and nuanced account of the Sindhi experience of partition, it carefully examines the political, social and psychological dimensions. His narrative is precise and compassionate, its measured prose conveying the emotional weight of chaos. A poignant section describes the despair of Sindhi writers who lost not only their homes but also their readership and, in many cases, the desire to write. Many died heartbreaking deaths.
New discoveries also include discovery of Premila Rajan Son-in-law from Sindh (Notion Press 2025). The title suggests a humorous cultural study – a much-pampered Sindhi son-in-law – and the cover is a mug shot framed by postage stamps. The book contains lists of information (some extremely inaccurate), affectionate anecdotes and some priceless glimpses into the world of Sindhvarki.
Who was Sindhvarki? Soon after the British occupation of Sindh in 1843, groups of youth boarded steamships loaded with “the work of Sindh” – handmade goods, textiles and curios – and set off to trade across the empire. They had established trading networks long before partition, a remarkable history of which was documented by the French scholar Claude Markowitz. Traders of Sindh: From Bukhara to Panama (CUP 2000).
Read more: Read an excerpt from Sindh: Stories from a lost motherland
beyond diamond rings (Book Palace, 2009) is a bold fictional treatment of this world by Kusum Chopra. It portrays the plight of Sindhvarki women whose husbands lived in distant countries and who had to run alone with their children and elders. However, Sindhvarki is the world’s most luminous depiction of beyond the rainbow (BWF, 2021) by Murali Melwani, which won the International Impact Book Award in 2025. Its 11 short stories, set in Chile, Hong Kong, Canada, Thailand and other countries, explore Sindhi enterprise and endurance. Murali, who grew up in Shillong, studied English literature and became a professor – and later an expatriate businessman – writes with precision and empathy, exploring deep themes of a homeland that no longer exists, the fragility of language, and the moral codes of those who survived destruction with work and faith.
Sindhwerk and Sindhwerkis (1919) was written by Tekchand Karamchand Mirchandani after a long career in Sindhwork. It describes the dreary lives of the youth who toiled abroad and were exploited by the capitalists sitting comfortably in Hyderabad. Sarala Kripalani (1920-2022) translated it in 2001 and preserved a rare and invaluable record. Murali asked me: “Why did he write ‘Sethiya’? Isn’t that Gujarati? In Sindhi we say ‘Sethiya’!” An observation outlining the quiet erosion of language through distance and time.
Sindhwerk and Sindhwerkis It has since been republished sindhabani (Rupa, 2025). The excellent cover bears a familiar mark of displacement – “Kutch” instead of “Kutch” – a reminder of how regional identities change in print. This puts Sarala Kripalani’s two other works in the public domain for a long time: short stories of sindh – shared digitally on his ninetieth birthday in 2020 – and Aaya Peer, Bhagga Mir and other Sindhi proverbsWhich he published in 2008 with Dada JP Vaswani’s ‘Forward’.
Read More: Review: Ladders Against the Sky by Murali Melwani
The marks of colonization, the blurring of idioms, the subtle drift of meaning that strips a culture of its own vocabulary, are visible in many of the books listed here: mike For PekoRamzan for Ramzan, Dupatta for Ravo; A lost diary would never be returned because its pages were required for cleaning the backyard (a claim that was contrary to surviving practice in South Asia).
When Sindhis say that they “came to India” or “our roots are in Pakistan”, they are repeating the absurdity that Pakistan existed before their expulsion. Sindh is often described as having escaped the full wrath of partition violence. Indeed, the violence of the partition of Sindh was quieter – social, linguistic, psychological. It resonates through generations.
Saaz Aggarwal is the author of Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Homeland and Losing Home, Finding Home.
