Maan Beghar Sindhin | Popati Hiranandani | Sindhi Poetry

In her poem "Maan Beghar Sindhin", Popati Hiranandani moves away from her usual critiques of marriage to address the profound trauma of the 1947 Partition. The poem is a powerful expression of the "statelessness" felt by the Sindhi community, who lost their entire province (Sindh) to Pakistan and were forced to settle across India without a specific state to call their own. Hiranandani uses the tragic historical figure of Anarkali-who was famously buried alive in a wall-to illustrate her own condition. She argues that while Anarkali was buried alive in brick and mortar, the Sindhi refugee is "buried alive in history's graveyard." This suggests that while they are physically alive, their culture, heritage, and "home" have been erased from the map of the world. She identifies herself as the "inheritor of the marvels of Indus architecture" (referring to Mohenjo-Daro and the ancient Indus Valley Civilization). There is a painful irony here: she comes from a civilization that literally "invented" the concept of planned cities and homes, yet she is now a woman without a home. The poem captures a unique Sindhi grievance. Unlike Punjabis or Bengalis, who had "half" of their states remain in India, Sindhis lost their entire land. She writes, "I am stateless," emphasizing that even though she lives in India, the physical soil of her ancestors is now a foreign country. #SindhiHindu #SindhiPoetry #SindhiShayari #Sindhi