THE LIVING LEGACY OF TRIMURTI
by - Sabita Babani
Every Sindhi worth his salt knows the Trimurti of the Sindhi community. The great Trinity of Malhi, Uttam and Kirat, who together formed the three pillars of Sindhi literary society. But here I am not mentioning this Trinity for their contributions to the cause of Sindhyat. Rather, I wish to make the community aware of their contribution in terms of their offspring – Asha Uttam Chand, Shobha Malhi Chandnani, and Arun Kirat Babani - the Gen-next Trimurti. And the good news is that these young, bright and committed souls have already taken their rightful position in the battleground of the Sindhyat movement and have attained fair success in their efforts to provide the missing link with the young generation of Sindhis.
I begin with Asha Uttam Chand, the brightest spark from this lot. Asha has been bestowed with the legacy of Sindhiat from both her parents right from birth. She, along with her younger sister Beena, has been active on the Sindhi stage through dance, music and drama right from childhood. Her esteemed dad, the late Mr. A J Uttam was the most passionate of the three leaders. He was known to be a no-nonsense person, almost to the point of being unpopular with many, but was respected for upholding truth and his utmost sincerity towards his community. Asha too has inherited this streak of devotion and a no-nonsense attitude of going to any length to achieve quality for Sindhi art and culture. And no wonder, Asha Chand is today part of many Sindhi social organizations notably the Indian Institute of Sindhology, Akhil Bharat Sindhi Boli Ain Sahit Sabha, Sindhi Sangat, and so on. On many occasions she has been honoured with prestigious awards and Prizes. Her work in the field of Sindhi tele-films, stage shows etc. has found an eager and welcome audience all over the world.
On the other hand, Shobha Malhi Chandnani, the elder daughter of late Shri Gobind Malhi, who was known as the cultural ambassador of the Sindhi community is a tender and gentle lady with a motherly smile always playing on her face. Shobha founded the Malhi Cultural Academy after the death of her illustrious father to propagate Sindhi culture in all parts of India and abroad. So rightfully Shobha has carried on her dad's ambassadorial role in today's youthful atmosphere. Shobha too has been an active soldier of Sindhiat from early days of her life, and even though today she works full time in the PR department of Indian Railways (a high and mighty post!) she is always available with abundant energy for her community. The ease and grace with which Shobha achieves every step in planning and designing of any event is wonderful to watch and it makes her a wonderful hostess as well as a great person to work with. During her younger days, Shobha, along with her younger sister, late Pushpa Malhi, traveled all over India and the world with their father's group, the famous Kalakar Mandal. So by all accounts Shobha Malhi Chandnani is the second member of the new Trimurti who can be depended on for any support in the cause of Sindhyat.
Lastly, there is Arun Kirat Babani, the third member of the Trimurti; he is the second son of Shri Kirat Babani, one of the mighty pillars of Sindhi Trimurti. Arun too received lessons in Sindhiat quite early on and he took up the pen at ten years of age. Being shy and withdrawn right from childhood, he decided to take up writing which left him to enjoy his privacy and yet make a difference through his pen. With a writer for a father, Arun had a huge library in his house and naturally his first lessons came from his dad. Reading was and still is his first love. The many gatherings and meetings of writers and artists he attended with his father from early days of his life, left a deep impression on him, and quite early, by the age of 15 he began to be published in the community newspapers and magazines.Arun has been an active writer throughout his life and has recently published two volumes of his poems in Sindhi.His love for spirituality and solitude makes him a private person, yet he is always willing to be a part of Sindhi issues albeit through his writings. Arun Kirat Babani is then the third member of the new Trimurti of the 21st century Sindhiat.
So, ladies and gentlemen, please give a big hand to this rising Trinity and wish them all success in their endeavor to help the Sindhi community, culture, arts and language.Further, bless these three young Sindhis to ignite the same fire in Roshan, Satya and Ekant, the Trimurti of three gentlemen born to these souls!!