THE SINDHI PEG
He studies in the Second year B.Com, and he is my student. He has been attending my classes for the past five months; and, during all these months, I have seen him wearing the same two shirts and trousers. But, they have always looked neat and clean on him!
I will call this young man Rajeev. Needless to say, he comes from a family where there are financial constraints. I haven't been to Rajeev's house. But, I can imagine the kind of 'care' he must be taking of those two pairs of his clothing's!
Meet Aman, who is in standard ten. He has more than two dozen pairs! Most of those Tees, Jeans, Jackets and Cargoes are branded ones and are from fine boutiques. And, this collection is apart from the normal school uniforms. Enter Aman's room, and you will step on his Tees, Bermudas, Jeans and Cargoes ... Yes, they lie every where on the floor. All his wardrobe isn't enough to teach our Aman what it mean to wear a 'neat and clean' set of clothes!
Perhaps, now, Aman's generation has just begun to hear about a term called - 'recession'. They are yet to experience its 'bitter taste'. What the well-off parents failed to inculcate, so far, in their 'well-fed' and 'well-clothed' kid, this harsh teacher, named - 'Tough Times', soon, would. Hopefully.
My grand father was alive when the World War I and the Great Depression played havoc, all over the world. My parents tell us the stories of the scarcity during the Second World War time. Hundreds of my Sindhi students still live in the 'Barracks'. When you visit their homes - no matter how enterprising and prosperous they have now become - you are sure to return ... learning a lesson or two on how to live 'within constraints'.
This community had to leave everything behind in Pakistan, when India was brutally divided, and, had to settle in these barracks with nothing in hand. They had to begin their lives all from the scratch. In spite of having prospered into a wealthy community, most of them have still retained their 'tiny huts', even now ... Probably, to keep alive the legend and pass on its legacy:'Tough times never last, but tough people do'.
It is, in deed, a priceless legacy!
I am fortunate to surround myself not only with hundreds of students from Sindhi community, but also to have so many Sindhi friends. Sometimes, when some of our families meet, we do bring to the fore this subject and make sure the legend is kept alive and the legacy is passed on. When the Whisky bottle is all empty, some one would place the closed empty-bottle, for a while, up-side-down. Then, releasing the cap so gracefully, he would serve to all of us that 'priceless' peg, by raising the toast, once again:
"Here is the 'Sindhi Peg' ... The one for the road!"
"CHEERS!"
P.S.: I have never tasted liquor, all these years; no, not even a 'Sindhi Peg'!
GERALD D'CUNHA
I will call this young man Rajeev. Needless to say, he comes from a family where there are financial constraints. I haven't been to Rajeev's house. But, I can imagine the kind of 'care' he must be taking of those two pairs of his clothing's!
Meet Aman, who is in standard ten. He has more than two dozen pairs! Most of those Tees, Jeans, Jackets and Cargoes are branded ones and are from fine boutiques. And, this collection is apart from the normal school uniforms. Enter Aman's room, and you will step on his Tees, Bermudas, Jeans and Cargoes ... Yes, they lie every where on the floor. All his wardrobe isn't enough to teach our Aman what it mean to wear a 'neat and clean' set of clothes!
Perhaps, now, Aman's generation has just begun to hear about a term called - 'recession'. They are yet to experience its 'bitter taste'. What the well-off parents failed to inculcate, so far, in their 'well-fed' and 'well-clothed' kid, this harsh teacher, named - 'Tough Times', soon, would. Hopefully.
My grand father was alive when the World War I and the Great Depression played havoc, all over the world. My parents tell us the stories of the scarcity during the Second World War time. Hundreds of my Sindhi students still live in the 'Barracks'. When you visit their homes - no matter how enterprising and prosperous they have now become - you are sure to return ... learning a lesson or two on how to live 'within constraints'.
This community had to leave everything behind in Pakistan, when India was brutally divided, and, had to settle in these barracks with nothing in hand. They had to begin their lives all from the scratch. In spite of having prospered into a wealthy community, most of them have still retained their 'tiny huts', even now ... Probably, to keep alive the legend and pass on its legacy:'Tough times never last, but tough people do'.
It is, in deed, a priceless legacy!
I am fortunate to surround myself not only with hundreds of students from Sindhi community, but also to have so many Sindhi friends. Sometimes, when some of our families meet, we do bring to the fore this subject and make sure the legend is kept alive and the legacy is passed on. When the Whisky bottle is all empty, some one would place the closed empty-bottle, for a while, up-side-down. Then, releasing the cap so gracefully, he would serve to all of us that 'priceless' peg, by raising the toast, once again:
"Here is the 'Sindhi Peg' ... The one for the road!"
"CHEERS!"
P.S.: I have never tasted liquor, all these years; no, not even a 'Sindhi Peg'!
GERALD D'CUNHA
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