For the past 40 years, weekly prayers at Sindhu House – the centre for the Singapore Sindhi Association (SSA) – would be amiss without Mr Dharamdas Kalwani, the harmonium player and singer. Without any professional training, Mr Dharamdas, 84, learned how to play solely from listening in on the sessions at the centre.
Mr Dharamdas is one of over 800 members, families, and community leaders who came together for SSA’s 105th anniversary celebrations.
The celebrations kicked off with three days of events and activities, starting with their inauguration ceremony on Aug 28. Held at Sindhu House on Mountbatten Road, the ceremony showcased the history of the association, aiming to educate non-Sindhi guests.
Member of Parliament for Mountbatten SMC Ms Gho Sze Kee was the guest of honour and honoured several members who have been with the association for many years, such as Mr Vashi Chandiramani, a blood-donor for 48 years at SSA.
Shifting from a more historical, religious focus, the programme continued the next day through a morning community walk in East Coast Park and Sindhi Nashto or traditional Sindhi breakfast.
The community spirit was enhanced through their Melapi Mel or Family Day at Sindhu House on Mountbatten Road, an evening fair which saw over 400 guests come together.
Game booths, food stalls, and cultural performances were the major highlights of the fair, stretching out late into the night.
On the final day, Sindhi satsangs or prayer groups, across Singapore came together for the Grand Assadivar, a special edition of the Sindhi Sunday morning prayers.
“It was the first time all eight satsangs came together, and the older generation are very emotional that nobody has done this before,” said Mr Ghanshyam Ahuja, the President of SSA.
Mr Ghanshyam also mentioned that engagement has increased, with the usual 20 new annual joinees jumping to 60 in the 100 days he has been president.
He also said that it is difficult to get youth members to attend events and prayers consistently, and so he devised a plan to increase their participation.
As a software company owner and venture capitalist, he said that he could get more younger members interested by speaking in their language, or rather speaking to the roots of the Sindhi culture.
“Sindhis came from traders, so I started planning events that were more about entrepreneurship,” said Mr Ghanshyam, 54, “People who then say, there is something different about this President.”
“By encouraging this, I was able to get more and more of the younger crowd to attend these functions,” he added.
He aims to maintain the increased engagement in the community through going beyond just the religious aspects of the community and shift to cultural and life skills, such as planning finance planning events for members.
The celebration continues in the following months, including a gala dinner celebration.
