RIYADH — Indus Cultural & Social Forum (ICSF) observed the Sindhi Cultural Day at the chancery hall of Pakistan Embassy here. Pakistan Ambassador Manzoor ul Haq was the chief guest. Dr. Mustafa started the program by reciting few verses from the Holy Qur'an. Abdul Qadir Mallah and Dr. Erum Qalbani jointly conducted the program. The hall was beautifully decorated with the flowers and traditional Sindhi Ajraks. Most of the attendees — men, women and kids — wore the traditional Sindhi caps and Ajraks, and the ISCF team was dressed in black suits with Ajrak printed neckties. In his welcome address, HOC Sardar Muhammad Khattak mentioned the significance and importance of the day. "We are conducting this program in order to highlight the Sindhi culture among the Pakistani community." Founder president of ICSF Abdul Qadir Mallah briefed the audience about the Sindhi day. He said, "The Indus forum was established in 2011 in order to provide a collective platform for the Sindhi community in Riyadh." Asadullah Jhatial, ICSF president, said that our objective is to build strong cultural relations between Sindhis and other regional communities of Pakistan. A documentary on Indus civilization was also shown to the audience and number of tableaus and colorful skits were also presented by the students of Pakistan International School Nasiriyah. Dr. Aurangzeb Halipota presented his article on "Sindh, The Land Of Peace & Tolerance", Dr. Erum Qalbani narrated the story of legendary Sufi poet of Sindh Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai, which was highly praised by the audience. ICSF Secretary General Zeeshan Qazi and Ismail Memon presented some beautiful Sindhi couplets of Bhittai with Urdu translation. Dr. Loung Umedani presented a famous kaafi (Sufic Poetry) of Bhittai in a traditional style whereas Sadaf Rasheed Sarki and Salman Makhdoom presented Sindhi folk songs in their melodious voices. Ambassador Haq in his speech described the Indus Valley Civilization as a peaceful civilization of the world, "Indus Valley Civilization is more than 5,000 years old, the inhabitants of Indus civilization were very peaceful, and in the ruins of Mohenjodaro, which was the heart of Indus Valley, any kind of weapons or sign of armored equipments was not found. It reflects the soft grass roots of Pakistan." The ambassador distributed certificates of appreciation to the students who participated in the tableaus and presented awards to the main sponsors Faryad Ahmed Chauhdary, Muhib Shalmani and Abdul Hameed Abu Farooq. The audience was enthralled by the famous visiting fsinger from Pakistan, Tufail Khan Sanjrani. Sanjarani came on stage in the latter half of the program and he captivated the audience from the very first track he rendered. He presented various songs in different regional languages such as Sindhi, Punjabi, Saraiki, Pashto and finally he presented the most famous Sindhi track "Ho-Jamalo," that brought the audience to their feet, as they danced in the traditional Sindhi manner. The dignitaries too went on stage and joined with Sanjarani and the jubilant crowd.
