Saaz Aggarwal

Last updated
Saaz Aggarwal
Born (1961-10-05) October 5, 1961 (age 63)
Occupation
  • biographer, oral historian, artist
Website
saazaggarwal.com

Saaz Aggarwal (born 1961) is a Pune-based Indian-English writer, biographer, oral historian, independent researcher, and artist. Best known for her extensive efforts in documenting the culture, heritage, and Partition experiences of the Sindhi diaspora, her writing and art also prominently feature themes of satire and parody. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Saaz was born in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1961 and grew up in the Nilgiris, where her father worked as a tea planter. She attended boarding school from the age of five, [3] spending her final six years at The Lawrence School, Lovedale. [4] Saaz pursued a Bachelor of Science in mathematics at Jai Hind College, Mumbai, followed by an Master of Science in mathematics at Mumbai University in 1982.

Language, loss and cultural exploration

Saaz's upbringing was shaped by her multicultural heritage, which was uncommon for the time. Her father belonged to the Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmin community, while her mother was Sindhi, both from families with multiple generations of formal education. [5] [6]

Despite her multicultural upbringing and the influence of many languages, English became her primary language of expression. This linguistic identity became a focal point during the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2023, where she was initially invited to join a panel on Sindhi literature. After explaining her inability to contribute in Sindhi, the panel was restructured to focus on "Mother Tongue," allowing her to share her perspectives on language loss and identity. [7] [8]

Early career and journalism

From December 1982 to March 1986, Saaz taught undergraduate Mathematics at Ruparel College, Mumbai, and took a career break when she had a baby in 1986. [9] [10] Her transition to writing professionally began after becoming a single parent in 1989. She began contributing articles to various Mumbai publications, and in December 1990, was appointed Features Editor at The Times of India , where she launched Ascent, a human resources supplement.

In 1993, after marrying Ajay Aggarwal, Saaz moved to Pune. For the next few years, she was Pune correspondent for Femina and contributed regular columns and articles to local and national publications, including Maharashtra Herald , Indian Express, Sunday Mid-Day , Verve, and Outlook. From 1998 to 2006, Saaz worked as Head of Human Resources and Quality at Seacom, an Information Technology company co-founded with her husband, eventually selling Seacom to Zensar in 2006. [11] In 2006, Saaz began writing weekly book reviews for the Sunday Mid-Day, covering a variety of genres and interviewing authors including at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

Memoirs and corporate biographies

Beginning in 2006, Saaz started helping individuals and corporations document their histories. Notable works include:

Art and exhibitions

In November 2005, Saaz held her first solo art exhibition, Bombay Clichés, at the Bajaj Art Gallery in Mumbai. The exhibition showcased satirical and quirky depictions of urban India in a Madhubani folk style. [14]

From January 26, 2017, Saaz became a regular participant in Pune's annual Art Mandai, an initiative conceived and managed by artist and academic Gauri Gandhi. This event brought together artists and vegetable vendors in a traditional market setting. [15]

Publishing and Sindhi heritage

In 2010, Saaz founded Black-and-White Fountain, a publishing imprint, and released The Songbird on My Shoulder, [16] a collection of her humour and parody writings.

In November 2012, she published Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Homeland, evolving from an oral history project inspired by conversations with her mother about life in Sindh before, during and after Partition. The book, later published by Oxford University Press (Pakistan) as Sindh: Stories from a Lost Homeland, received acclaim for its documentation of Sindhi history and culture and is recognized as a classic in Sindh studies. [17] [18] [19]

Her contributions to documenting and preserving Sindhi heritage include:

Books authored

Books published

Literary and academic articles and presentations on Sindh

Tapestry podcast

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References

  1. ↑ "The songbird on my shoulder : confessions of an unrepentant madam / Saaz Aggarwal". Princeton University Library .
  2. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (March 21, 2017). "My 1.2 foot vagina". Agents of Ishq.
  3. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (November 17, 2011). "Take Me Home". Open (Indian magazine) .
  4. ↑ Varma, Amit (December 19, 2022). "Episode 308: Saaz Aggarwal Enters a Vanished Homeland". The Seen & the Unseen.
  5. ↑ 1947 Partition Archive (18 July 2022). "Day 46 of '75 Days of Partition' - The Sindhi Refugee Experience". The 1947 Partition Archive – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ↑ "The Partition and beyond: Sindhi Stories, Struggles, and Success with Saaz Aggarwal | Indian Explorers podcast by Amit Nawalrai and Sabrina Scott". January 26, 2024 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (January 28, 2023). "A mother tongue Partition consumed intact: The depletion and revival of Sindhi language and culture". Scroll.in .
  8. ↑ "Jaipur Literature Festival | The Call of the Mother Tongue | Loquations and Dislocations". Jaipur Literature Festival . February 9, 2023 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ↑ "HLF | Speaker | Saaz Aggarwal". Hyderabad Literature Festival.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ "Bangalore Literature Festival | Participant | Saaz Aggarwal". Bangalore Literature Festival.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ "Zensar buys Seacom's POS solutions, customer base". Business Standard . February 6, 2013.
  12. ↑ "An elephant kissed my window : and other stories from the tea plantations of South India / M Ravindran & Saaz Aggarwal". Princeton University Library . ISBN   9789383465149.
  13. ↑ "There's no such thing as a self-made man / by Pralhad P. Chhabria; [text, Saaz Aggarwal]". Princeton University Library . ISBN   9788190351430.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ Chari, Mridula (October 27, 2014). "Eight vibrant images of Mumbai with a folksy Madhubani twist". Scroll.in .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ↑ Ray, Kunal (September 23, 2016). "Art in the Bazaar". The Hindu .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ↑ "The songbird on my shoulder : confessions of an unrepentant madam / Saaz Aggarwal". Princeton University Library .{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ↑ "Sindh : stories from a lost homeland / Saaz Aggarwal". Princeton University Library .
  18. ↑ Ansari, Sarah (January 20, 2013). "Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Land by Saaz Aggarwal". Dawn (newspaper) .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ↑ "KLF-2013: Book Launch: Sindh Stories from a Lost Homeland (17.2.2013)". Karachi Literature Festival 2013. February 17, 2013 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ↑ "Sindh : stories from a vanished homeland / Saaz Aggarwal". Princeton University Library .{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (August 15, 2024). "Hemu Kalani: A lost freedom hero from Sindh and a homeland cleaved apart". Scroll.in .
  22. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (January 28, 2023). "A mother tongue Partition consumed intact: The depletion and revival of Sindhi language and culture". Scroll.in.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ↑ "Uncovering Urban Legacies: Tracing the Sindhi and Parsi Heritage of Bombay". Avid Learning. January 21, 2023 – via YouTube.
  24. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (October 29, 2022). "Kindness in the Time of Partition". The Usawa Literary Review.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (August 19, 2022). "For Sindhis, Partition Meant Loss of a Homeland, of a Culture and a Language". The Wire .
  26. ↑ "The Pain of Partition, as Seen in the Literature of Many Languages". The Wire .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  27. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (August 13, 2022). "How refugees from Sindh rebuilt their lives – and India – after Partition". Scroll.in .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  28. ↑ Kalra, Sonam (July 18, 2022). "Day 46 of '75 Days of Partition' - The Sindhi Refugee Experience" – via YouTube.
  29. ↑ Nazrana, Rajan Singh (March 30, 2022). "Sindhiness and the untold truth about Partition". Global Indian Series Podcast– via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz. "Murli Melwani: A Writer of Significant Influence". Academia.edu .
  31. ↑ "Memories and history: how Partition affected the lives of ordinary people". Oral History Association of India. October 11, 2020 – via YouTube.
  32. ↑ "Rootless - but bound by ties that encircle the globe". September 21, 2020 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (August 15, 2019). "Freedom fighters: The inspiring story of a Sindhi woman, Kala Shahani, and her husband Shanti". Scroll.in .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  34. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz (August 11, 2017). "After Partition, Sindhis Turned Displacement Into Determination and Enterprise". The Wire .{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  35. ↑ Aggarwal, Saaz. "Wherever". Academia.edu .{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  36. ↑ "Their dedication to education | Tapestry Podcast | Ep 7". Tapestry Podcast. June 20, 2023 – via YouTube.
  37. ↑ "Their dedication to education | Tapestry Podcast | Ep 7". Tapestry Podcast– via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  38. ↑ "Partition | Tapestry Podcast | Ep 6". Tapestry Podcast. June 6, 2023 – via YouTube.
  39. ↑ "Fighting for Freedom". Tapestry Podcast. May 30, 2023 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  40. ↑ "Sindhi multinationals in colonial times". Tapestry Podcast– via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  41. ↑ "Land of multi-faith harmony". Tapestry Podcast– via YouTube.
  42. ↑ "I left my heart in..." Tapestry Podcast. May 9, 2023 – via YouTube.
  43. ↑ "Stories from a Vanished Homeland". Tapestry Podcast. May 2, 2023 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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