Life is so colourless without you Jhulelal Sain…
Malik Toon Dard Kateendey, Keena Chadeendey,
Har Hand, Har Hal Mein Raval Rahibar Theendey.
مالِڪ تون دردَ ڪٽيندي، ڪين ڇڏيندي،
هر هند هر هال ۾ راول رهبر ٿيندي
मालिक तून दर्द कटींदे कीन छ्दींदे,
हर हंद हर हाल में रावल रहबर थींदे
When you were a child, did you ever visit Matki Mela at Puj Chaliha Sahib Mandir ? How was your experience ?
Every Devotee has a personal relation with Jhulelal Sain. Some design Matki to pursue him and some pray from bottom of the heart and forget everything around. This was clicked at 5pm when devotees were at their peak and Sky turned dark and started pouring very strong. Everyone felt that Jhulelal Sai is now listening and he is all around us. They started shouting even louder now “AAYOO LAAL…. JHULELAAAL…”. It was moment of BLISS….
“Jyotiyun wara Lal Udera,
Kayee kan tha to dhar bhera
Tuhinjee Mahir Aamir Faqeer tey.
Palav Payaan thee Maan Jindh Peer Tey
Basiyun Basiyan Thee Maan Jindh Peer Tey
Muhinjee Bedi athai Vich Seer Tey,
Palav Payan Thee Maan Jindh Peer Tey”
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Matki Mela at Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir, Sindhunagar-5.
Dona Prasad From Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir. Devotees wait for this miraculous blessing for entire year. 
The man who prays with Palav for thousands of devotees everyday, stands in common man queue for his own Palav. Sabai Chavo, Jai Jhulelal…
Sometimes the Matki Mela queue goes upto half a KM. They are yet to enter the Puj Chaliha Sahib Mandir. As they go closer to the Temple, you see them getting excited. Every time they are asked to move little forward, they shout loudly “Aayo Lal, Jhulelal”
Ayo Lal Sabai Chavo, Jhulelal… If you have to choose ONE BEST MATKI,
whom do you choose ?
There are some Jhulelal devotees who like to decorate their Matki with Flowers & some like to decorate with coins & small mirrors. But then there are very few who who go out of the way to decorate their Matki with great level of detail. Salute to this devotee who spent so much time, money & intelligence in making himself uniquely identifiable in the huge crowd with this colourful Matki.
When you look at the crowd on Matki Mela Day, you see the Sea of people marching towards the Temple. Thanks to volunteers who hold the ropes and allow only movement of devotees in chunks of 50 people. This avoids the stampede in case of any emergency. This also helps to control the speed at which Matkis can be accommodated in Pond/ Sarovar. Enough time for Jyot and Jhulelal darshan & finally the speed at which Dona Prasad can be delivered. Entire premise is monitored through more than 30 CCD cameras and wireless radios. Thanks to Chaliha Sahib Trust who ensure smooth operation of such a mega event, which only can be termed as Kumbh Mela of Sindhis…
When this small kid in queue saw there is camera on top. He wanted to be pictured. So he was lifted on shoulder so that camera can see him well. While he was being lifted, he nicely maintained the balance of Matki on his head for this photograph. That is the excitement you get to see in small children during Matki Mela
Chaliha Sahib Festival is where families come together. They offer Palav to Jhulelal Sain and beg for happiness and prosperity of their family.
Garma Garam Chai at Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir on Matki Mela. Shewadhari offering hot tea to all who are volunteering for entire day since early morning.
On Matki Mela day when Jhulelal devotees enter the temple gate after standing in long queue, they are welcomed with water & sharbat. You can see visitors are not only Young and old but even children of all the ages.
This photo may not impress you much until you read this completely. Every year more than 1.5 lakh devotees visit Puj Chaliha Sahib Mandir & about 1 lakh Matkis are delivered in this small pond in one day. If these matkis are not removed from pond/sarovar within 1 hour, entire pond will be filled with Matkis and there will not be even space to stand. There are about 50+ Matki Management Shewadharis who take the charge of transferring these Matkis to 2nd floor as fast as possible so that Pond/ Sarovar is not filled with Matkis. Now it may sound so simple, but it requires great stamina to stand in water for many hours or sit on this wooden frame and transfer 40 to 60 Matkis per minute. This team is trained for a week to stand in water for long hours and play with few Matkis to strengthen their muscles. Salute to each one of them who have figured out this structure and way of co-ordination to keep Pond/ Sarovar clean and free to walk with Matki on head.
These two little girls also wanted to hold Matki on their head on Matki Mela day & their mother wanted to make that moment memorable with a picture. Isn’t that amazing ? They get to experience Sindhi culture so early in life. Many of the NRI Sindhis not even know about Chaliha Sahib Festival.
Software Engineer by Profession, but Shevadhari (Volunteer) by wish at Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir. God see us all the same…
Lal ja Jaati chao, Jhulelal…
This is where all the generations stand together to co-operate and perform Seva of Jhulelal Sain. They arrange for bottled water, tea, buttermilk for devotees who are on fast and coming for Matki Visarjan in sunlight & rain. Yes, one moment it is hot sun & other moment it rains like anything. Devotees stand in long queue to reach Jhulelal Amrit Sarovar for many hours sometime.
Almost every Sindhi around visits Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir during the Festival. Kamlesh Kapoor is famous for his foot tapping dance music and singing performances.
This little girl is youngest volunteer at Puj Chaliha Sahib Jhulelal Mandir. She helps other volunteers near the Jhulelal Amrit Sarovar during Matki Mela Ladies time slot. If we wish our children to take ownership of Sindhi community that is the only way. Let them start volunteering early when they are young.
Trust in Jhulelal Sain has never been so strong, so vast. You see all the generations enjoying Chaliha Sahib Mela at Sindhunagar-5 this year.
These Photos & Videos are going to tell you the stories of Trust & Belief of Sindhi community in Jhulelal Sain. These stories will make you feel proud. Trust & Belief which can be seen in the form of gigantic crowd of devotees, can be heard in the non stop anthem…
“Ayo Lal, Jhulelal… Ayo Lal, Jhulelal…
