SANA KIDS SHOW SANA SILVER Jubilee, ST.Louis Missouri, USA.

July 2-6, 2009.

An article on The Daily Times from Lahore.

WASHINGTON DIARY: A fine example —Dr Manzur Ejaz

A very informative and constructive session was organised by Mr Iqbal Tareen, another ex-president of SANA, on the spread of Hepatitis B and C in Sindh. This is one of the fastest spreading diseases in Pakistan due to pollution

“Sindhis’ suffering continues under the PPP regime” was what the ex-president of the Sindhi Association of North America (SANA), Mr Aziz Narejo, highlighted in a press release about SANA’s 25th annual conference held in St Louis, Missouri. On completing its quarter-century of activism, SANA appeared to be one of the most mature expatriate organisations. The seminars and discussions held under the conference’s auspices were serious, timely and befitting sans unnecessary bashing of Islamabad and Punjab.

SANA has gained such a prestige that top Sindhi intellectuals and politicians are keen to be invited to its annual conference in the US. This year, Speaker of the Sindh assembly, Nisar Khoro; Vice Chancellor Sindh University, Mazharul Haq Siddiqui; founder of the Sindh Graduate Association, Dr Suleman Sheikh; MNA Umar Gul Jhakrani; and rising intellectual and activist, Zulfiqar Halepoto travelled from Sindh; in addition, several physicians, activists, artists and notable intellectuals from the US and Canada participated in the gathering. As a matter of fact, this annual gathering has gained such importance for Sindhi expatriates that families with modest incomes save the whole year to attend SANA events. This year there were 500 registrations at $70 per family.

The well-attended session was on the politics of the Pakistan People’s Party in Sindh where Speaker Nisar Khoro and Umar Gul Jhakrani were going to defend their party’s performance in the province.

Surprisingly, Zulfiqar Halepoto, who had defended the PPP at last year’s conference, reversed his opinion. From the title of his presentation — “The second betrayal” — one could expect what was to come. Mr Halepoto, doing justice to the title, proved his point from every angle: how the PPP has not fulfilled a single promise that it made during the election campaign. Mr Halepoto alleged that the PPP government in Sindh is the worst in terms of governance and has failed Sindhis on many fronts. Mr Khoro and Mr Jhakrani countered the allegations with high-pitched rhetoric and invoked the Sindhis’ love for the Bhutto family. In essence, their defence was denial and apology poorly wrapped in emotional language.

The other interesting session was on making Sindhi a national language, organised by SANA’s ex-president Aziz Narejo. In an earlier session, Dr Mithal Waqasi had laid the foundations of this theme by tracing the history of the Sindh Valley Civilisation through pre-historic periods. In his view, present-day Pakistan is a continuation of the Sindh Valley Civilization. Dr Suleman Sheikh traced the origin of the Sindhi language from the Vedic period, highlighting the historical fact that the first translation in a non-Ajmi language was done in Sindhi. Dr. Siddiqui also shed light on various other aspects of the Sindhi language.

It was also argued that every language, national or foreign, comes as a package and not just an assemblage of words. Every language brings its socio-historic perspective as well as its heroes and villains with it. In present day Pakistan, first English and then Urdu were used to demolish the indigenous history of the people and their culture of resistance created by the Sufi thinkers of Punjab and Sindh. It resulted in the presentation of invaders like Ahmad Shah Abdali and Nadir Shah as heroes. In this atmosphere emerged a culture of violence and religious extremism in the form of the Taliban and jihadis of various persuasions. Suppression of the Sufi teachings of tolerance, humanity and secular culture played an important role in creating the problems Pakistan is faced with today.

A very informative and constructive session was organised by Mr Iqbal Tareen, another ex-president of SANA, on the spread of Hepatitis B and C in Sindh. This is one of the fastest spreading diseases in Pakistan due to pollution. About forty-six percent of Pakistanis are suffering from this disease and the government is doing almost nothing to stop this epidemic. Activists from other nationalities should follow the work undertaken by Mr Tareen and his organisation.

There were also sessions on political economy moderated by Dr Sarfraz Memon and other leading intellectuals of SANA. Besides analytical sessions, the cultural programmes were quite interesting. This year, the enchanting recitation of Sindhi poetry by Dr Aijaz Turk was sorely missed. But on the whole, the Silver Jubilee gathering of SANA reflected maturity and depth that is lacking in other expat organisations. Of course the hard labour put in by its president Dr Valeed Shaikh and general secretary Dr Shabbir Shaikh was a major factor behind the success of the event.

SANA’s conventions are unique in two respects. First, it is the only community gathering that has a secular colour. People of other countries and religions, notably Sindhi Hindus, enthusiastically participate. Second, it is the only indigenous community that conducts its entire business in its mother tongue, Sindhi. SANA has presented itself as a model for the other ethnic communities of Pakistan.

The writer can be reached at manzurejaz@yahoo.com

The dailyTimes.com.pk

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American Sindhis

Sana Idnani..Miss Teen New York, from Mehar/Hyderabad Sindh to New York.





In between college-campus visits, Senior Prom planning and mid-terms, 18-year old Sana Idnani was able to fit the Miss Teen New York pageant into her scheduled as she was crowned the 2008 Miss Teen New York. Sana Idnani made history on the 25^th anniversary of the Miss Teen New York contest as she was the first ever Sindhi crown holder. Miss Teen New York, a contest which dates back to 1983, has been an important segment in every teenage girl’s life. It is this contest which allows them to move forward to the Miss Teen USA pageant, representing their state on a National level. Sana stands out from the rest of the past Crown holders because she is the first South Asian-Indian to ever have been given this prestigious title.

The first ever Miss USA competition was won by Jackie Loughery, also a New York-native. The first Miss Teen USA contest was also won by a Miss Teen New York, Ruth Zakarian, who eventually paved her path towards Hollywood. Shauna Cambill won the Miss New York USA crown in 1999 and went to win the Miss USA crown at the national pageant and later took part in the Miss Universe contest. With such an extensive list of past winners and their accomplishments, it’s up to Sana to represent her community, as well as, Sindhi culture, on a national level as she competes against 49 other young, intelligent and beautiful girls for the title of Miss Teen USA.

In between shopping at Sephora in Times Square, Sana and I stopped for some coffee and we talked about her road to ‘the crown,’ her Sindhi heritage and much more!

Tirusha: Sana, you’re such a young and beautiful girl! First of all, congrats for being crowned the new Miss Teen New York! That’s quite an accomplishment, and especially being a South Asian-Indian. What was your initial reaction when they called your name as the winner?
Sana Idnani: Thank You Tirusha! When they called my name I was absolutely stunned! I felt as if a weight had just been lifted off my shoulders and that I had achieved my biggest dream.

Was this the first time that you have ever taken part in such a contest?
No, I participated in Miss New York Teen USA last year. I was a runner up, and that is what pursued me to try again.

That’s great! And it totally paid off! So Sana, many say that beauty pageants aren’t always for the “bold and beautiful” and that it’s more for the “risky and dangerous,” because at times they can be so cut-throat. Did you ever feel like that during this conversation?
Pageants can be cut-throat, but when you are participating in a state pageant, you should go in knowing that you will be in the public eye and people will talk.

So tell us about ‘the crown’ itself! Do you have to wear it when you go out to public event, along with the Miss Teen NY sash? Did you wear it to school when you first won the contest?
Yes, I do wear it to events, but I usually just wear my sash. When I first won the contest, I did in fact wear it to school because all my friends were dying to see it! I wish I could wear it every day! I also made the announcement on the School PA system wearing my sash and crown.

That must’ve been fun! Now that you’re Miss Teen NY, you will be taking part in the Miss Teen USA contest. Let’s say you were to win the Miss Teen USA title; do realize that you’re instantly going to become a role model to thousands, maybe, millions of young girls across the country – especially from the South Asian community? Does the idea of becoming a role model at such a young age create more pressure for you? What do you think you can do so that people view you in a more positive limelight?
I do have a lot of pressure on me, but I am also glad that thousands of people will look up to me. It is an honor to be a role model. If I won Miss Teen USA, I would help girls feel more secure about them. Many young girls are so insecure and need to believe in themselves. I would also do whatever I could for my community.

You’re a young and intelligent Sindhi girl. Tell us a little bit about your background? Is your family originally from Sindh?
My parents were born and brought up in Lucknow, India. My grandparents from my mother’s side came from Hyderabad, Sindh and my father’s parents came from Mehar, Sindh.

Were your parents the first from your family to migrate to America? When did they come here?
My father came to New York in 1977 and went back and got married in 1981 and brought my mother to New York.

So, do you speak Sindhi?
No; but my parents do.

What are you, personally trying to do, to keep your South Asian-Indian and Sindhi culture evident in your lifestyle?
We have very big family in New York. We celebrate all the traditional Hindu and Sindhi festivals. My parents were even talking about the Cheti Chand Fair which was being celebrated somewhere in New York. We eat Sai Bhaji frequently. My father is a big fan of Sindhi paper.

So right now you’re in High School. What does your future hold for you? Where do you think you’ll go to college? Do you know what field of study you want to do into?
I would love to be a TV anchor. Recently, I have been taking TV broadcasting classes and they are great! I applied to Syracuse University because it has a wonderful communications program, but I am still deciding on where I want to go.

Do you ever think that you would make modeling a full-time career?
No, I want to stick with becoming a TV anchor and maybe modeling would be a second job. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to model, but I would not choose it as a full-time career.

You and I both know that our parents would rather see our generation as more doctors, lawyers and engineers – not actresses or models. How supportive has your family been throughout the entire Miss Teen New York contest and other such activities?
I am very fortunate to have parents and my sibling who were always supportive of me doing anything that I excel at: be it an artist, singer, media person or actress. My family has a varied background. My father is an Italian Restaurant owner, my mother works for media and entertainment and my brother is a financial analyst. In fact, the first time I entered the pageant, it was my mom who forwarded my picture to the pageant headquarters (her coworkers pushed her to do that). All three of them take time off from their hectic schedule to accompany me to several places (community events, photo-shoots, shopping for the pageant and interview question-answer practice sessions).

So Sana, if you were offered a role in a Bollywood movie, do you think you would put your college-education on hold and enter acting?
At present, my focus is on the Miss Teen USA competition. As for Bollywood, I really do not know as yet.

In between photo-shoots and interviews, how does the new Miss Teen New York like to spend her free time?!
I do community service and volunteer for several charities. I love participating in local fashion shows as well as organizing them for my school. Also, I spend time with friends and family.

Sana, it’s been a wonderful time getting to know you and seeing young South Asians representing the South Asian community on such a large platform. We wish you the best of luck in the Miss Teen USA contest and your future plans. Do you have any last words for our readers?
Thank you Tirusha for this opportunity! I would also like to thank everyone who believed in me and supported me – especially my friends and family. Believe in yourself and you will be able to achieve anything! Thanks!

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