Asha Chand

Born on 23rd March in Mumbai, Asha Chand is a versatile personality, excelling as a publisher, music producer, TV producer, and organizer of social events. She is the daughter of renowned Sindhi language writers, A.G. Uttam and Sundri Uttamchandani.

Asha Chand has been instrumental in advancing the cause of the Sindhi language. She notably created a CD titled “Acho Ta Sindhi Sikhoon,” which has garnered popularity among Sindhi families both in India and internationally. Moreover, she produced a video documentary named “Sindhi Sahit Ji Ttimoorti,” which celebrates the writers pivotal to the inclusion of the Sindhi language in the 8th schedule of the Indian constitution. This documentary was launched in 2000.

In her capacity as a TV producer, Asha Chand has helmed the production of over 25 Sindhi telefilms and tele-serials, which have been aired on platforms such as Doordarshan in India and KTN in Sindh. She has also brought to light the unpublished works of her mother, Sundri Uttamchandani.

Additionally, Asha Chand is recognized for her unwavering commitment to organizing various events that aim to foster the Sindhi language, culture, and music.

Remembering Sundri Uttamchandani

Sundri Uttamchandani ( 28th Sep 1924-8th July 2013), was born in Hyderabd Sindh was the left to center progressive person, short story writer and novelist of Sindhi language in India. She had been writing continuously for last 4 decades. She had won Sahitya Akdemi Award and Maharashtra Gaurav Purskar and Akhil Bharat Sindhi Bboli.

India – Renowned Sindhi writer Sundri Uttamchandani passes away

India: Sundri Uttamchandani (سندري اتم چنداڻي), said to be the most well-known Sindhi-Indian of our times and Sindhi language’s prominent writer has passed away in India. She was born in Hyderabad, Sindh on September 28, 1924. She was a Sindhi secular liberal writer herself and was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sindhi for her Book Vichhoro, a compilation of nine short stories, in the year 1986, given by Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters.

She married Assandas Uttamchandani (A.J.Uttam), a Freedom fighter, with a keen interest in Sindhi Literature with clear leanings toward Marxist Philosophy and, who become in the later years one of the leading writers of Sindhi progressive literary movement, A J Uttam, was one of the founders of Sindhi Sahit Mandal in Bombay/Mumbai. Sundri accompanied him to weekly literary meetings which were presided over by a fatherly figure, Prof M U Malkani, who was a fountain head of encouragement to new and upcoming writers.

This exposure to Sindhi writers and their creative works were to become source of inspiration for her and in the year 1953 she produced her first novel “Kirandar Deewaroon” (Crumbling walls). This proved to be path breaking. She shattered the near monopoly of male domination in literature by her one feat, while on the one hand, she won the accolades and acclaim of all senior writers for use of ‘homely’ language, a folksy- idiomatic language used by women folk in their household and thus brought in a new literary flavour in Sindhi literature. The theme and structure of the novel was mature and it has distinction of being reprinted many times over. This Novel was translated into many Indian languages and brought her acclaim by literary critics of those languages, thus elevating her from a writer of a regional language to writer the of All India fame. Her Second Novel “Preet Purani Reet Niraali” came in the year 1956, which has run into 5 reprints, which amply speaks of its merit and popularity.

More details » Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sundri_Uttamchandani

Short Story – This City (in Sindhi He Shahir)

Original in Sindhi  He Shahir

By: Sundri Uttamchandani, Translated by Shri. Param Abhichandani

Published in the ‘Indian Literature’ Vol 187 by Sahitya Akademi

“They have placed her arms on the stone-block. They are breaking her bangles.” Pushu pulled holding the hem of my saree and brought me out. “Mummy! Come out and watch.” I saw and my eyes blurred.