The Son of The Soil (Novel), Preface By: Dr. Muhammad Ali Manjhi

The Son of The Soil (Novel)

Written By: Mansoor Thalho

Preface By: Dr. Muhammad Ali Manjhi

The coastal belt of Sindh not only occupies geographical and historical importance but it is very important from an economic and social point of view. The Indus delta had not only remained adventitious for the land of Sindh but it has been of immense interest all around the world as well. After traversing thousands of miles of the journey when the mighty Indus River falls into the Arabian Sea, one can find there every form of life looks so strange. It is because of the fact that this region is very significant with regard to human life and evolution because water has been considered as the pioneering point in the construction of great ancient civilizations in the world.


 Without water, imagining aboutthe emergence of any civilization is nothing but a totally futile effort. Where there is water there life exists. It is the recognized fact that those countries where there flows the rivers of freshwater are the countries of huge opportunities and weal. But still those countries who have their own coastal belts are the luckiest countries in the world. Furthermore, those countries that have their own extensive deltas are the countries that have been rich in resources.

Indus delta had been rich in the historical perspective with regard to transportation, trade and piscatorial. Sea fish, river fish the fish brought up in the submergence of fresh and saltwater & the vegetables, corn, and fruition which grow out of that silted soil of Indus River brings plenty of pleasure for the people. The fish was once caught in abundance by the fishermen and each fishing boat or Horrowas loaded with tons of sea and freshwater fish. The people belonging to this area of land once lived a very happy and contented life. Happiness rushed toward the courtyard of their homes and bowed down before them and paid homage to them. After the construction of deadly dams on the Indus River, the mighty river had been blocked preventing running its natural flow and course and its silted water did not reach the downstream area. The Indus River not only brings freshwater in abundance but it brings rich deposits of golden sand which as a result gives birth to different colors pertaining to life. It is because of the constant flow of water of the Indus River which produces and maintains the mangroves forests in the coastal belt of Sindh and these mangroves forest in the past not only provided for a better habitat of multiple forms of life and had served as a huge source of food and shelter as well. Now all these mangroves forests had been annihilated due to the unavailability of freshwater of the Indus River. All these different forms of life are under threat of extinction and people have lost all the charms and revelries of life. Now, these people carry dead bodies of their fellows by themselves on their shouldersto get them buried in their graveyards. Can we imagine how much these fishermen of the coastal belt of Sindh have been robbed of their belongings? So sad indeed, yeah indeed so sad it is. On the one hand, these fishermen are not only deprived of all the natural resources they have and on the other hand natural disasters such asa rise in the water of sea, storm, and floods keep hitting their part of land where they are settled permanently. It is the game of death that keeps going on and on time after time. In such a grim situation how these fishermen live and survive is a question of utmost importance. In all such account regarding them one can not only find encompassed in the books of history but one can find a true account of them in this novel entitled “MITTI AIN MUHANA” by our honorable writer Mr. Mansoor Thalho who have observed and had a deep study of those fishermen and he have lived in their company to know about the sorrows and sufferings they are going through and the reader can feel and perceive about their sorrow and sufferings as endured by them through this novel where such a beautiful portrait of their lives has been given in detail by the author faithfully.

This part of land once had many ports such as Debul Bundar, Larri Bundar, Oranga Bundar, Dharaja Bundar, Jaakhi Bundar, Khurrak Bundar, Sokhi Bundar, Wakar Bundar, Shah Bundar, Ketti Bundar, etc. apart from all those seaports of Sindh, there were many other river ports as well. In this novel, Kharochhan is mentioned repeatedly and the writer had jumped into the past and had mentioned that port in the historical perspective. As if nearly a century-old port of Kharochhan has been brought to the surface for the reader to see and perceive about its past glory. There the happiness bubbled up in the very hearts and souls of those fishermen. Many festivals were celebrated ones upon a time. This part of land had never before remained devoid of plenty of richness of resources such as trade, home industry, and reddish Sugdasi rice were produced in opulence and it is because of this renowned fact that the travelers coming to this part of land has written that: “The people belonging to this part of land earn their livelihood once in a week and then they spend their time staying at their homes with their families and children and they keep eating and enjoying their earnings nearly for a week.” From it, one can vividly find out that the income earned by the fishermen living here was enough to make arrangements of food for their families nearly for a whole week. But unfortunately now gone are those kinds of charms and amenities of life in the days of yore were to be and now the conditions of people living here have changed badly.

For any creativity, one needs efficacious imagination, art and modus operandi, but apart from it for a puissant creativity, one needs to have a deep observation and tHorrough study of things. All such creative writings encompass such elements that make writing resplendent. All such writings leave their deep aftereffects on society and such kinds of writings become immortal. Our writer Mr. Mansoor Thalho has burned his midnight oil and has utilized all his efficiencies to the maximum extent in writing and shaping this novel entitled “MITTI AIN MUHANA” and he had genuinely studied the everyday occurrences taking place in the lives of those fishermen living in this part of land and he had reached the minds and souls of people and he had taken excessive efforts to collect the facts and figures about their lives and he had utilized all these facts and figures as a raw material to work upon the construction of this novel. These are the facts based upon the problems and bad occurrences therefrom this fisherfolk has to pass through. Mansoor Thalho walked by foot and met with the fisher folks and he had collected all these facts as narrated by them to him verbally and he has portrayed a real picture of their ways of living. He makes no exaggeration rather he puts things as they are without any alteration. He spent at least three months in the company of those fishermen and seafarers sometimes on a boat and some time in a launch or in a small boat called Horro. Sometimes he did stay somewhere in an island and sometimes he stayed near the rising water of the Indus River and sometimes he spent his time in the company of those fishermen in the adventurous situations in the salt water of sea and sometimes he is found standing over certain ancient sites which once reflected fertility and richness of resources but now these ruined sites show a gloomy picture and these sites had been destroyed either by the sea storms or by heavy waves and it has engulfed many energetic youths carrying their dead bodies back to their homes from deep inside the water of sea. And sometimes he finds the labor of those fishermen being lost, auctioned and exploited. All these bitterest realities has been portrayed in this novel in a tHorrough detail.

Any person who lives in northern Sindh and he comes to see this part of the world he can see many strange and unique things full of human interest and curiosity. And one can find the miserable conditions of people living here, indeed, their lives are full of sorrows and sufferings. The new irrigation and barrage system was initially started in northern Sindh but it was introduced in Larr a long time later. There the agricultural fertility took place a long time ago. Though the modern irrigation system reached very late in this part of world but this part of land had remained rich in soil productivity nearly forty years ago here people caught hundreds of tons of fish and many kinds of paddies were cultivated here and this area had plenty of orchards as well. The freshwater of the Indus River had been a source of richness and happiness to the people of this part of the world. Broad leaved deciduous tree of Cordia Myxa, Jammu, Chiku, mangoes, banana, sugar cane and cotton crop were once cultivated here in plenty. The following verse of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai as if adumbrates about the destruction of all such richness’s:

نه سي وونئڻ وڻن ۾، نه سي ڪاتاريون،

پسيو  بازاريون،  ھينئڙو  مُون  لوڻ  ٿئي

Neither are seen cotton pods on the plants nor are the spinners available. The commercial center is deserted. My heart melts at its desolate sight.

Many of our researchers had objected the point with regard to this verse of Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai and they have remarked that the observation of poet seems to be flawed for cotton plant did not grow in the form of a tree in Sindh but such researchers are unknown of the fact that it also grows in the form of a tree in Sindh. In this part of Sindh called Larr located in the Indus Delta, the cotton plant was found growing in the form of a tree nearly a century ago in plenty and its type is still cultivated in some parts of Badin and Mirpurkhas districts. And such type of crop which grows in the form of a tree can be seen in village Raees Khair Bux Khan Laghari (on Darra Bella Road) in district Thatta. Such kind of crop now can also be seen outgrowing in the park of Hamdia Jamia Masjid situated in Belo city. Whereas one can also see such type of cotton tree growing up in the land of a landlord named Zamindar Muhammad Khan in Belo city. The cotton obtained from that plant is very soft and flocculent. Such type of cotton is a little bit feculent. In this part of land, the teakwood and weed grass also grows abundantly. The teakwood tree is known for the best wood because it is so solid and durable. One can find an example of teakwood used hundreds of years ago in Thatta Nangar city and in a village named Challia. Where apple trees grow in abundance and where the iron ore is found in plenty there one can deduce how a plethora of minerals can be found.

Forty years ago people from Sukkur and other parts of Sindh used to come here in this part of land by boats in the season of winter for harvesting paddy crop and in return they were paid a huge amount of that crop after harvest which they took away by boats and it was enough for them to store and eat for a whole year. One can find a detailed view of such a phenomenon. This is a well-constructed novel with regard to its plot, language, and diction. At least one can claim that this is the first novel which deals with such kind of topic regarding the way the fisher folk of coastal region of Sindh lives their lives. This novel is based upon the bitterest realities pertaining to human conditions. The life of those seafarers is a long story of sorrows and sufferings and peace and tranquility as well. It is a story based upon historical facts and the sense of aestheticism. The characters of this novel are very much interesting and bold and firm and they match with the very fabrics of our society although the names of the characters are fictitious from the character of a primary teacher named Sarang and the character of a woodcutter named Ibu Wadho. The character of Ibu Wadho is very much interesting and it encompasses a treasure of folklore literature and he is very much familiar with the sea and river adventures and such kind of folklore wisdom is reflected through his character by the way he on various occasions utters certain verses of poetry. The author makes the fisherman utter such poetical lines and then he synthesizes a record of folklore literature and wisdom.

It may have been better in case the historians and the researchers might have written about the calamities brought about in the result of earthquakes, storms and sea rise. All such information regarding disasters and famines should be on the record. The cultural and folklore literature could be preserved by such historians and researchers but unfortunately not such a step is taken by them in this connection but all this credit goes to our honorable author of this book Mr. Mansoor Thalho who had written this book in the backdrop of this region.

The hero of this novel Sarang stays at the home of his friend Rahim Bux Khatti and he listens to the account of past glorious days pertaining to this part of the land and he becomes curious to have a close look upon the lives of those fishermen. During that while, he meets with a man called Hajan who insists him to stay with him and to attend the wedding ceremony of his friend which is scheduled to be held in Gharo City. Sarang stays with him on his request. Then Hajan takes Sarang the hero of the novel to Ketti Bundar. After that Sarang comes to Jangi Sar then he goes to attend the festival of Ibrahim Shah Waree Waro where he meets a man named Ameer Bux Jatt who invites him to have a visit at Jatti City. Sarang goes there on his invitation and he hears about the stories of disasters and havocs brought about by the sea storm. Sarang visits all those demolished places and sites and all these sites and places have been explained in detail by the author of this book. In this novel, the character of Mamma Shasher is a good-humored character and he is very much popular in this region.

All the characters of this novel are full of charm and interest from the heroine of this novel named Mithi to Haleema Cheeri. Mithi is an innocent and mild character and she is the embodiment of truth and her character is portrayed showing moral values of our society. In the end, she muses about the Sarang and says: “Sarang is a man and in our society man is free to move anywhere he wants to go and Sarang could come to me if he wished so, but very sad......”

The character of Sorath who is the cousin of Sarang also plays an important role in this novel who shows her softheratednesswith regard to the inner pain of Sarang and she fulfills her duty of love and relationship and she keeps serving Sarang and in return she implores nothing from Sarang. Such a realization is felt by Sarang belatedly. So far as the art of characterization is concerned this novel is a beautifully well-written novel.

whatever novels has been published in the Sindhi language so far this novel in comparison to other novels written in Sindhi is much different and new with regard to its subject, diction, and language. It is the sort of newness as contributed by Mr. Mansoor Thalho by this novel to Sindhi language. This book is not just a novel but it is a book that encompasses a history of this region pertaining to a particular age. One can see the geographical reflection peering out of the characters of this novel, therefore, this novel occupies the importance of a historical document as well. This novel imparts a huge knowledge about this part of the land in doldrums. This nobility is achieved by Mansoor Thalho and he had fulfilled his responsibility as a historian as well. By profession he is a banker and being a bank officer who keeps counting monies and maintaining an account of it deserves great appreciation for writing this type of book. He has done a very fabulous job indeed for fundamentally he is an author. As a part and parcel of every writer’s duty, he has fulfilled his duty honestly. He never wastes his time by chatting with other fellows for a long time and speaking rough tough stuff and nor do he likes to waste the time of other fellows speaking out-of-tunerather he remains engrossed in his work everytime. Our youth must learn from this man. I say with surety that this novel of Mr. Mansoor Thalho will not only become a matter of interest to the readers but it is also a new proposition for writers of our age.

Dr. Muhammad Ali “Manjhi”

Thatta Nanagar

25 January, 2008