Sindhi Proverbs
Sindhis were philosophical and hence they made invaluable observations of life.
Bandey jey man mein hikri, Sahib jey man mein bee
Literally means: While man has something on his mind, God has something else on His
The above proverb shows that Sindhis believed in God’s will, and felt that man proposes and God disposes. Sindhis not only believed in God’s will, but also in His mercy. Hence they claimed:
Maaran vaarey khaan, Rakhan vaaro vado aahey
Which means: God, the Protector is greater than he who wants to harm you.
In connection with death, Sindhis said:
Jinjo hitey khap, Tinjo hutey bhi khap
Literally means: Those who are most needed on earth, Seem to be needed by God as well.
Or, Those people who are needed, die sooner than we would like them to.
When one speaks a lie, one tends to speak so many more to substantiate the first untruth. Hence Sindhis believed:
Sach ta vetho nach
Which literally means: If you speak the truth you can continue to dance with joy. In other words, if you speak the truth, you can enjoy peace as there is no fear of you contradicting yourself.
Sindhis claimed:
Akul khaaey gam
Which literally means that the wise one swallows ones pain and pride for the benefit of the majority.
Sindhis also claimed:
Chor jee maau, Kund mein rooey
Which literally means that the mother of the thief, cries in a corner. This proverb implies that the mother of a guilty one cannot share her grief with anyone, and hence cries alone`
How did such people console themselves? By telling themselves to forget about what has transpired, and to look to the future. Hence they stated:
Ditho sab visaar, Undithey khey yaad kar
Which literally means that one must forget what one has seen, and look towards the unseen future. But is what one literally sees with ones own eyes a fact? Sindhis claim that sometimes ones own eyes deceive us. The latter is what the next proverb claims:
Kadheen kadheen akhyoon bi dokho khaayee vanyan
If one learns to sit in a corner of a room on the floor, no one will push one around. It is this belief that the following proverb agrees with:
Jainh khaado taro, Tainh khey nako soor nako baro.
Which literally means that if one eats the food from the bottom of the saucepan, one will not suffer from pain or humiliation. It implies that it pays to be humble.
Obviously Sindhis believed in the wisdom of the last proverb because they claim the opposite to be true. They say:
Jeda utha, Teda loda
Which means: The bigger the camel, the bigger the jerks it experiences.
Sindhis believe in reciprocating a favour.
Khaado khaaey, Ta akhiyoon lajayeen
Which means that if you partake of somebody’s food, you feel embarrassed until you reciprocate the favor. Also Sindhis claimed:
Jainjo khaaibo, Tainjo gaaibo
Which means that one must appreciate and praise, those who feed you and/or do you a favour.
The following saying echoes the latter proverb’s feeling.
Khaado khaaibo ta khangbo bhee
Which means that while eating, you will be sometimes forced to clear your throat.
On the subject of food, Sindhis observed:
Daaney daaney tey mohir.
Which means that every grain of food is stamped with the name of the eater.
The above proverb ascertains that Sindhis believed in destiny.
Sindhis connected well-being with food. The latter they very poetically connected with Muslim festivals, with which Hindu Sindhis were familiar, as they lived midst Sindhi Muslims.
Aahey ta Eed na ta Rozo
Which means that if one is financially sound, then one eats well, like one does during the festival of “Eed”. If one, on the other hand is not economically comfortable, then one must perforce fast like during “Roza”.
Foreword
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Shakun Kimatrai 