SIAN JHULE LAL JAYANTI

The festival of Cheti Chand, also known as Jhulelal Jayanti was on 22nd March. This is celebrated by Sindhi Hindus on the first day of the Sindhi month of Chet and is believed to be the birthday of Jhulelal, the patron saint of Sindhi Hindus.

There was a tradition in Greater Punjab (including Haryana, HP & Jammu) that whenever the farmer would start building a water source like tube well, hand pump, well or connecting stream water to his fields they would pray to Khwaja, the water deity, ‘Paani da Devta’. When the handpump, well, tube well or water connection was completed, at the first supply of water, sweat rice usually made of Gur (jaggery) would be distributed among everyone. Previously the whole biradaari (brotherhood, extended family) would gather but as these water supply sources became more common it was distributed among those present and working on the bore/drill of the water source.

These people had little idea who Khwaja was except he is ‘Paani da Devta’. Punjab is the land of Indus and Khwaja Khizr or Sian Jhule Lal are considered as Indus God and much more.