KARACHI: A two-day festival of literature and culture of the Sindh civilisation kicked off at the auditorium of the Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi, which highlighted among other things the services of now almost-forgotten the Shahani family, particularly Dayaram Gidumal, a judge who is considered an epitome of philanthropy.

Geeta Shahani’s brief paper on her illustrated family was read by organisers at the conference because of her illness in which she informed the audience about the huge public services rendered by her family in the past, particular the Shahani brothers — Dayaram and Metharam.

She said Dayaram Gidumal was born in Hyderabad and among Sindh’s first graduates. He did his BA and law at the Bombay University and joined government services in 1887. He was nominated as judicial commissioner of Sindh, but he refused to become a high court judge.

He was the living spirit behind the establishment of the Sindh Arts College – a first for the students of Sindh — and travelled extensively to raise funds for it. The college was later named after Dayaram Jethamal (DJ), who contributed heaviest charity for its setting up more than 125 years ago.

He was a prominent district and sessions judge and ‘none of his judgments were reversed by superior courts’. In a case he restored a disputed land to a mosque.

“The imam said year later that he felt Dayaram conducted the case as if a saint was sitting in the judge’s chair,” she wrote, adding, a Parsi philanthropist called Dayaram Sindh’s Florence Nightingale.

She said Dayaram helped set up Nari Shala, where widows spent their time reading and taking part in social activities.

“He vied against child marriage, child motherhood, harassment by in-laws and dowry, etc. He saved 800 orphans from the clutches of missionaries,” she said while saying the good judge spent just Rs150 out of his hefty salary of Rs1,120 per month and the rest went to charity. A trust was established after the death of his elder brother Metharam, which was dedicated to social services. After the Partition, she said, Dayaram’s son Kewalram Shahani bought and presented the Pakistan Chowk area to the city. Rasool Memon read his paper on the evolution of novel while Madad Ali Sindh spoke briefly over the Sindhi short story, which passed a century in 2014.

Ghaffar Tabassum and Muzaffar Memon presented their poetry.Abdul Bari Mangi, Masood Noorani and Khadim Hussain Soomro also spoke on the occasion. The conference was followed by a musical evening.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2015

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