Born on the 24th of December 1952 in the district of Larkana in Sindh, currently a part of the post-partition state of Pakistan, Dr. Baldev B Matlani, was the former Head and current Reader of the Department of Sindhi at the prestigious Mumbai University. In his fiftieth year, Dr Baldev Matlani has seen both, the highs and lows of life. But with single-point determination, strong will and selfless love to mother and land, he has emerged triumphant in every trial of life. Baldev, though more widely known in the community as an academician and educationalist, is also quiet frequently seen wielding his favourite toy - while clicking through his lens eye, also delivering fine performances on stage and the screen while never missing an opportunity to write for the cause of the community. A true academician, an excellent photographer, an orator par excellence, writer, columnist and an artist, Baldev, second among three brothers, is lovingly known as Ballu to his family and friends, and is undoubtedly a bag full of talent. Residing with his wife, two sons and daughter, in an upmarket locality of Ulhasnagar, Baldev and his brothers still today live together in a modern amended version of the Joint family system.

His journey from motherland Sindh to his current home at Ulhasnagar has been truly noteworthy. After successfully pursuing his education in Law, this L.L.B graduate has also added the M.A (Sindhi) and M.A (Economics) degrees from the University of Sindh. He stepped into his profession of teaching, during his early twenties, when he joined the Government Degree College, Larkana as a Lecturer in Sindhi language in the year 1974. He worked there until 1977, when he took the decision of migrating to India. On arrival at Ulhasnagar, his early days in this new territory were no pushover, and he had to shed more than the proverbial sweat to gain foothold in his adopted surroundings. With utmost belief in the Almighty accompanied with the blessings of his parents, it was not too long before Baldev's hard work began to yield results. His foray into teaching in India began with the assignment of teaching his much-loved and highly respected mother tongue, Sindhi to the students of R K Talreja College in Ulhasnagar in the year 1978. After that invaluable experience, he soon joined the ranks of the teaching staff at the highly prestigious and most sought after Jai Hind College in Mumbai. From a lecturer in Degree College, he soon rose to become the head of the college Sindhi department in 1981. Apart from executing his teaching responsibilities with total finesses, he also was a favourite with his students, due to his creation of various platforms for students to excel in extra curricular activities.

In the meantime, he completed his D.H.E., M.Phil and his doctorate in Sindhi language from the University of Mumbai, and soon joined the University and rose to become the Reader and Head of the Sindhi department in 1994. Not one to lie low, he infused some never seen before enthusiasm in the activities of the Mumbai University Sindhi Department. Under his able and astute leadership, the Department organised many a seminar and began contributing to the cause of Sindhiat. Not surprisingly, just a month after taking over the reins of the Sindhi department, he organised a Seminar on 'Sufism in Sindhi Poetry', which was well attended by the litterateur Sindhi community. Not resting on the accolades he received for his enthusiasm, he set forth on his journey of working towards making his Department contribute to the cause of Sindhis, both in India and overseas. During his tenure, the department like many of its contemporaries set foray into the publishing forum, and since 1997 has published literature of the highest quality. His first work, a translation, 'Fun-e-Tahqeeq ain un ja usool' won him the prestigious Best Translation award from the Central Sahitya Akademi in the year 1999. Seminars, Symposiums, Talk shows, Publications, Guest Lectures, along with his child-like enthusiasm, led the then Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University, Dr S D Karnik, allotting two acres of land for the setting up of a unique Sindhi Bhasha Bhavan in the University's Vidyanagri Campus at Kalina in Mumbai for the promotion and preservation of Sindhi language and culture.

A guide to students who are keen on pursuing their doctorate in Sindhi, Dr Baldev Matlani has also been the brainchild behind the initiation of the Certificate and Diploma courses in Sindhi by the Mumbai University for the benefit of the numerous Sindhis in and around the city of Mumbai. The success of the two courses can be gauged by the growing number of applications received each year by the University for these two courses. Always on the lookout for improvement, Dr Baldev Matlani single-handedly has put together a wonderful collection of some rare books in the In-house library of the Department and has constantly been adding on to the already wide collection of Sindhi books in the Jawaharlal Nehru Central Library of the university. Standing further testimony to his eagerness and enthusiasm in helping the community triumph in its current struggle for cultural survival is his involvement in organising committees of leading Sindhi organisations and his contribution as an Editorial Consultant to the team of SINDHISHAAN.

SUNDAR IYER, spoke to Dr Baldev Matlani during one of his weekly visits to Sindhishaan, and spoke to him at length on the Sindhi Language and on the success of the recently commenced Certificate and Diploma courses to impart education on the Sindhi language.

Excerpts of the Interview:
Sindhishaan (SS)
Baldev Matlani (BM)

SS - In the first issue of our community communiqué, Prerna - we sought the opinion of our members through our Opinion Poll, on the topic of whether success in struggle for cultural survival solely depends on the growing patronage of the Sindhi language. A fairly high 56 percentage of our members felt that language is the main factor that shall help revive the culture. A doctorate in Sindhi language, we consider you an authority on this subject and would appreciate if you could throw your views on the subject.

BM - Language is the soul of any community. It is very much the flag bearer of any culture. According to me, the regular usage of the language is most important for any community. Language is the single binding factor that unites an entire community, irrespective of caste, class, creed, race or religion. It plays a very important role in building a sense of identity. A person who is born a Sindhi will feel like a Sindhi only when he speaks in his language, and the same rule applies for members of any community. Language is that one attribute which shall help identify a member of a particular community from a crowd. Thus, I believe that Language to a large extent can and shall serve the purpose.
Also one's language has a huge influence on one's personality. This could be understood by the fact that we Sindhis, traditionally and historically have always been humility personified. The language in itself has so much of humility in it, that it has had a huge impact on our behaviour. We always show utmost respect to our elders and have many other traits and features that are associated to us Sindhis. Our upbringing has been primarily on a perfect blend of Sufistic and Vedantic principles and our language has helped us be better Sindhis. If the language is itself lost, so would the special features of the community and its people.

SS - As the former Head and current Reader of the Sindhi department of one of the most prestigious universities in our country, how have you and your department been contributing to improve the current predicament that the Sindhis find themselves in?

BM - I must appreciate you asking me this question, since now you have given me an opportunity to express my heartfelt feelings. First and foremost, the Department of Sindhi - Mumbai University is the only full-fledged Sindhi language department in our whole country. Over the years, our Department has been expanding its wings and imparting education to aspiring students, who are keen on pursuing Masters in Arts (M.A) in Sindhi, M.Phil in Sindhi, or keen to pursue their doctorate thesis on issues related to Sindhis apart from the recently started Certificate and Diploma courses in Sindhi language.
But, what one needs to know is that the Department is not an avenue for only classroom teaching. The Department's responsibility only begins at classroom teaching. But our main responsibility is to provide further avenues for researchers who are working on further unravelling unexplored fields/areas. We have to encourage and promote research-oriented activities. The department further augments the community's endeavour in promoting and preserving Sindhi culture and history by regularly conducting symposiums, seminars, conferences, discussions etc on issues that affect the community today. This is something that I have been paying utmost attention to since I took over as H.O.D in the year 1994, when there was only an M.A degree course in Sindhi being offered, and there were no students enrolled under me for M.Phil or research. Currently, though the number of students in research is not much, the numbers certainly seem to be on the rise and that is a satisfying sign. The department also has been regularly maintaining interactions with Sindhi departments of other universities both in the country and overseas. The department also publishes research works that have proven to be a boon to the community. Thus, me and my department have always been regularly striving towards playing an active role in helping the members know more about their roots. Standing testimony to our efforts would be the creation of the proposed SINDHI BHASHA BHAVAN within the university premises - that shall house an anthropological research centre, art gallery, research library and many other departments that shall cater to the promotion of Sindhi culture and history through the generations.

SS - During your tenure, the university of Mumbai began conducting courses on Sindhi language to the normal member in various venues. How has the response been to these courses?

BM - After having spent considerable part of my life teaching my beloved language to interested students in education institutes, I have always been longing to do something for my community and my department. Thus, arose this desire in me to help the numerous Sindhis living around the suburbs of Mumbai city to learn and speak their mother tongue. I wanted the members of the community to be proud of their glorious culture and love their language. I then set out on this endeavour and with invaluable advices from community leaders and friends, we framed specific courses in Sindhi for those members who were ignorant of their mother tongue and its riches. Thereon, in the year 1999 - 2000, during the silver jubilee year of our department we got approval from the university authorities and we started the Diploma and Certificate courses in Sindhi. It was and is our mission to bring back Sindhi language to the homes and hearts of those members who had discarded the language and to enable them to know more about Sindhi heritage, history, culture, literature and language.
The course didn't receive registrations as per our expectations in the initial year, and we faced a lot of rebuke. There needs to be an attachment and fondness for the language from within, and hence we received only 30 registration in the first year. The following year we took the course beyond the boundaries of the Kalina campus to Sindhi localities in the city, and thus the course is currently conducted at 4 - 5 localities in Mumbai and we received nearly 250 students in the second year. The growing list of interested students further highlights that the courses could be successful in teaching the language to the Sindhi masses. I have not been working for any personal accolades or recognition, but rather for the love of my language. I think our mission would be truly successful if more people get to learn the language, and since a considerable amount of our member live overseas, I think the community must work for the inclusion of these courses in the I.D.E (Department for correspondence courses - Mumbai University) for the overall love of the language.