Cutchi Memon Digest January 2015

(Haji Hanif, Mohammed Sajid Memon, Arif Devani and
Rafik Memon) was formed to look after the
construction. The rebuilding work was funded from
contributions made by Cutchi Memons residing in Bhuj.
No external aid was sought as it was believed that Bhuj
people are well established to look after their own needs.
A land mark evolutionary event in the history of Cutchi
memons was the establishment of a women's Forum -
Ummeed. The event is historical because its activities
were not confined to cookery classes and religious
discussions. They went much beyond even their declared
purpose of educational development of women. The
members of Ummeed went from door to door to gather
the data of all Memon families living in Bhuj to make a
comprehensive census possible - a feat which the
menfolk in many Jamats failed to achieve! On February
18, 2013, Ummeed held its first grand event at the
Jamatkhana, the grandest ever in the history of the Jamat.
They held their first program soon thereafter - A greatly
successful Summer Camp of 10 days.

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Cutchi Memon Jamat of Mumbai

Cutchi Memons
came to Mumbai
sometime
between 1813
and 1816 as
they were
attracted by its
business
opportunties.
After settling down, they organized themselves into a
Jamat. In 1898, they got together under

Kambekar Street where the Mumbai Jamatkhana is built

the leadership of prominent members known as Patels.
These persons had unquestionable authority over matters
relating to the affairs of their brethren. Gradually,

52

democratic concepts crept into the members' thinking,
and in 1922, for the first time in its history, the
community elected a Managing committee. Later, rules
and regulations were framed; these were modified and
amended from time to time to suit changing conditions.
In 1931, the trustees of the Sait Karim Mohammed
Sulaiman Trust built a Jamatkhana for the members.

In 1938, the British government enacted the Cutchi
Memon Act of 1938, which placed Cutchi Memons under
the Muslim Personal Law. This Act displaced the Act of
1920, which permitted Cutchi Memons to choose between
the Hindu Law and the Muslim Personal Law.

In 1939, the trustees of the Cummoo Jaffer Trust
established a Girls‘ School, which was inaugurated by the
Sheriff of Bombay, Haji Sulaiman Wahid. The same year,
the trustees of Haji Ismail Haji Yusuf Ahmedabadi Trust
introduced scholarships for higher education. In 1943, a
Cutchi Memon Co-operative Store was established under
the Presidentship of Osman Sobani. However, due to
unavoidable circumstances it was closed down, only to be

53

reopened for a short spell; currently, it does not exist.
In 1952, the Jamat saw controversial changes. Since the
Jamat was divided on the question of Sudh (Chokha
Memon - the ―pure‖) and Asudh (Besar - the ―impure‖),
the Jamat decided to undertake a census to assess the
situation. Purity was maintained when ascendants were all
Cutchi Memons with no mixture of non-Cutchi Memon
blood. Impurity crept in when there entered non-Cutchi
Memon blood in the lineage. Ibrahim Mohammed
Wadiwala, Hasham Ismail and Sulaiman Usman Sait gave a
workable formula for uniting the Jamat by doing away
with the divisions of Sudh and Asudh

That time saw a crop of Memon journals; one such was
the ―Memon Mitra‖ in the Gujarati language edited and
published by Usman Japanwala. A free library and reading
room was found. The same year, Ibrahim Mohammed
Wadiwala, the President of the Jamat, encouraged
youngsters to unite under their own banner; under his
guidance, several young students came together to
establish the Cutchi Memon Students' Circle. This
organization has made tremendous progress over the

54

past half a century in the field of education, fraternity and
industry. In 1958, a Nursery Class named as Phulwari was
started under the helm of A. A .Oomer and under the
supervision of Miss Fathima Abdul Sattar (now Mrs.
Fathima Rafiq Zakaria). The Jamat has efficiently managed
this Phulwari to this day. In 1962, President Ibrahim
Lakhani felt that housing was always a perennial problem
for the Jamat members in a growing city which was
Bombay, and got eminent personalities involved. They
were able to thwart the designs of Bombay Municipal
Corporation for obtaining a plot of land at Malad for its
own use by securing it from the Zakaria Patel Trust in
Malad. Abdul Qayoom Karachiwala and Jaan Mohammed
Gadhwala were leaders in the effort to secure this land for
the Jamath. Abdul Razak "Saeed" and Shafi Nakhuda took
on the project for Building No. 1 and completed its
construction for the Cutchi Memon Tenement Board, a
trust under the Jamat. In 1972, President Haroon S. Kably
saw the completion of Building No. 2 on the same plot of
land. At this time the trustees of the Zakaria Patel Trust
declared that residents of the four blocks of the
sanatorium would be considered as permanent residents.

55

From 1963 to 1965, Gulam Mahmood Banatwala held the
office of President of the Jamat. The Jamat's constitution
was redrafted under his Presidentship. In 1965, the Jamat
started distributing free stationery and textbooks to
students under the recommendation and supervision of
Abdullah Patka. In 1967, under the chairmanship of
Haroon S. Kably, a Scholarship Centralization Board was
initiated. Prior to its formation, a needy student had to
apply to several trusts for obtaining a scholarship to
pursue high school and college education. The Board
ensured less paperwork and effort by individual students,
proper supervision of allotted amounts so as to avoid
duplication.

In 1971, the year of the Jamat Constitution‘s Golden
Jubilee celebration, an All India Cutchi Memon Conference
was arranged under the Presidentship of Haroon S. Kably.
Delegates from several Jamats all over India attended the
conference. Several useful resolutions were passed; one
of them was the formation of the All India Cutchi Memon
Federation. In 1973, the All India Cutchi Memon

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Federation came into existence. The founder-president
was Haroon S. Kably. The Vice-presidents were Ibrahim
Sulaiman Sait, MP, and Azeez Sait, MLA - Karnataka. The
first Secretary was Abdul Qadeer Moosa Dadani. During
the Presidentship of Haroon S. Kably, the trustees of the
Kadwani Masjid Trust handed over the trust to the Jamat.
The Jamat immediately renovated the masjid. At the same
time, the Jamat acquired a thoroughfare in one of the
Jamat's kabrastans which restricted its use by non-
kabrastan visitors.
During the time of Rashid Oomer, a Women‘s
Organization by the name "Bazme-e-Khawateen" was
started. This organization started an Industrial Home,
which ensured employment to the needy women in the
Jamat where they made pickles, papads etc.

In 1990, Dr. Abdul Rauf Soomar was elected President. He
remained the Jamat's President for 18 years. He was
instrumental in starting a bi-monthly magazine, "Rabitah"
in English, Urdu and Gujarati. He also initiated the
renovation of the Jamatkhana as well as several repairs at
the kabrastans. In August 2007, Dr. Gulam Hussain

57

Siddick Vanjara (G.S. Venjara) was elected President. In
January 2014, he was relected.

Cutchi Memon Jamat of
Thiruvananthapuram

Cutchi Memons began to settle in Travancore from The
beginning of the 19th century. A few Cutchi Memons were
invited from Bombay by the then Dewan of Travancore,
Raja Kesava Dasa. These families settled first in Alleppey
and Arattupuzha, then very important ports on the west
coast of the former Travancore state. They were
encouraged to settle in Travancore with a view to
increasing its export trade. At that time, coconuts and
allied products were not much in demand outside the
state, and the coir industry was in its infancy. Cutchi
Memons exported dried coconut (copra), coir, coir
matting, etc. to the Provinces of Bombay and Bengal.
Gradually these products found a good market in other
parts of India. Some Cutchi Memons settled in Cochin to
develop export trade through Cochin port.

58

The coir industry grew rapidly, and even a few English
firms started factories in Alleppey and Cochin. The port of
Arattupuzha gradually lost its importance as the land
strip between the sea and the backwaters was diminished
as a result of the sea advancing eastwards. The people of
Arattupuzha left the place and settled in Alleppey, which
was at that time a fishing yard. The commercial
importance of Alleppey began only from that time and
reached its zenith in a short time.

Chalai Bazar
Today --
Started by
Cutchi
Memons two
centuries
ago

The ruling princes of the time encouraged Cutchi

59

Memons in many ways, being convinced of their
honesty. They lauded their prompt services to the State
in times of peril and need when they served the people
by obtaining food grains from outside the state
whenever there was a shortage. The first four Cutchi
Memon families to settle in Chalai near the palace
were:

1. Haji Joonas Haji Osman Sait and Sons, who
conducted the business of Chemists and Druggists,
Government contractors and Palace suppliers,
2. Haji Habeeb Sait, who conducted the business of
Grains, Textiles, and Stationery supplies to Government
departments,
3. Mohamed Haji Adam Sait, who was a merchant and
commission agent of Bombay market, and
4. Ommer Hashim Sait, who dealt in wholesale textile
goods, zinc and copper.

The above four families conducted their business
peacefully and the ruling royal family gave them all

60

encouragement. Their relationship with the royal family
was so cordial that they were invited to the palace for
audience with the Maharajah often.

Until 1938 Cutchi Memons were governed by Hindu
Law of succession. With the enactment of Shariat Act in
1938 they came under the Muslim Personal Law.

Some of the Cutchi Memons in Alleppey and Cochin
migrated to Trivandrum to start trade in the then
developing town. They started textile shops, stationery
and medical shops. They also began to trade in
imported goods from Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.
They undertook contracts for supply of goods to the
Zoo, Public Works Department stores and workshops as
well as hospitals, dispensaries, municipalities, garages
and stables.

Cutchi Memons organized their Jamath soon after they
settled in Chalai. The first Sait was Haji Joonas Haji
Osman Sait. The Presidentship of the Jamath was

61

hereditary until very recently as was in other Jamaths in
Alleppey, Cochin etc. Haji Joonas Sait was followed by
his son, Mohammed Joonis Sait and then his cousin,
Sulaiman Haji Esmail Sait, and lastly by his son,
Mohamed Yousuf Sulaiman Sait who left Trivandrum
and settled in Cochin for a short while. He was the
Trustee of the Attakulangara Masjid constructed by his
family. His cousin Haji Yunis Haji Davood Sait
established the Motor Sales and Service which had
branches in Kottayam and Kochi. He is credited with
the import of the first automobile to Trivandrum. The
members did increase in numbers and began to settle
in other parts of the town, i.e. Manacaud, Palayam,
Thycaud, etc. They were very religious, and highly
philanthropic. Two separate funds were collected, one
for the Jamath and the other for construction of
masjids and madrassas at Manacaud, Attakulangara,
Chalai, Palayam etc. Four Cutchi Memons purchased
jointly a big plot for the purpose of members‘ use as a
burial ground opposite the Manacaud Masjid, although
there was already a kabarsthan attached to the masjid

62

waqfed by the Peediya family, where until recently the
Qabrs of Haji Habeeb Sait, his son Haji Haroon Sait, his
son Haji Abdul Rahim Sait, and their successors and
family members Haji AbdulRaheem Sait existed and
partly demolished for the expansion of the mosque and
constructing a marriage hall, madrassa, office and
other facilities. Until 2007, members of the Hashmanis
were also buried here. The additional plot used as
burial ground now is in the name of the Cutchi Memon
Jamath in the Revenue records, as follows:

Iranimutton Village - Survey No, 271
Thandaper No. – 8113
Area: 1 hectare 79 Ar.
Waqf Board Reg. No. B 7/3713/RA
The Jamath is paying land tax

63

Panjo Cutchi
Rasodo

In this column we will introduce some of the
typical Cutchi food preparations which we
have forgotten for long. Try them and feel the difference.

Naseema Bai

Kutchi cuisine is relatively simple. It consists of Khichdi, the
main dish eaten with Kadhi - a savoury curry made of
yoghurt using curry patta, ginger, chillies and finely
chopped vegetables as garnishing - onions and pickels.
Some common dishes include Khaman Dhokla, a salty
steamed cake; Doodhpak, a sweet, thickened milk
confectionery and Shrikhand, dessert made of yoghurt,
flavoured with saffron, cardamom, nuts and candied fruit
which is eaten with hot, fluffy pooris. A typical Kutchi meal
consists of Bajre ja Rotla, Dhal, Odho, Kadhi, Garlic Chutney,
Chutneys of Mint and Coriander, chopped Onions in Vinegar
- all served in earthenware, and 'Goad' ( Gud—Jaggery).

64

The meal is almost always followed by a chilled glass of
'chhaas', a very thin buttermilk concoction which helps the
body cool down during the extremely dry and hot seasons.

ODHO
Odho is made of brinjal. Brinjal, on it's own, is tasteless
and takes on the taste of anything that it is mixed with,
hence th importance of the masala powders. The brinjal is
most tasty and sweet just under the cap (calyx), so make
sure that you do not chop away that part. Always choose
the brinjal with bright green calyx, if the calyx has dried
the brinjal will have too many big seeds which makes the
Odho un-appetizing. Here is how to make Odho!

65

Ingredients
1 large brinjal/baingan
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
1 green chili chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 tbsp oil,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin (jeera) seeds
1 dry red chili,
1 pinch asafoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder,
1/4 tsp red chili powder,
1 tbsp coriander powder,
1tsp cumin seed powder,
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder,
2 pinches garam masala, and coriander leaves for
garnishing.

Prepare : The first step is to cook the brinjal. This can be
done in many ways. The traditional way to do this is
roasting the brinjal on hot charcoal, now many of us will

66

not find this to be practical. The next method is by oiling
the brinjal and roasting it on an open flame on the stove
top. A third one is is to broil the oiled brinjal in the oven or
just microwave the chopped brinjal with 2 tbsp water for
10 mins or even quicker just pressure cook it. Let it cool,
then peel and mash it to a pulp.

Now to cook: Heat oil, add mustard seeds, jeera, dry red
chili, and asafoetida. Add chopped onion & green chili, fry
till brownish. Add garlic and fry for a minute. Add tomato
and all the spice powders and cook till oil separates. Add
salt. Add the mashed brinjal and mix well. Add a tbsp of
water if the mixture looks dry. Cover and cook till
everything blends well for about 15 mins. Sprinkle garam
masala and switch off the gas. The flavors blend well if
kept for sometime before serving.

To make Chhaas: Blend 1 cup yogurt (Curd) with 4 cups
water, add salt & cumin seed (Jeera) powder. Serve chilled,
garnished with chopped coriander leaves.

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Tidbits

GANDHIJI AND DADA ABDULLA SETH

The oil painting
below of
Gandhiji with
Dada Abdulla
Seth (a.k.a. Haji
Abdulla Haji
Adam Jhaveri)
was made by
Kishorebhai
Thanki, a

famous artist of Porbander and was unveiled by the
committee members of the Victoria Jubilee Madrassa and
English Medium High School in Porbander, founded by
Dada Abdulla Seth to provide Education upto Std. 12 for
Muslim Students without taking govt. aid. The portrait has
been moved to Gandhi Smruti Kirti Mandal, Porbander

68

<Victoria Jubilee Madrasa Porbander

and was unveiled there by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, then Chief
Minister of Gujarat, on 2nd October
2003.

Luis Fischer, the author of ―The Life
of Mahatma Gandhi‖, one of the well known biographies of
Gandhiji, writes that when Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
returned from England after doing his law in London, he
started practice in Rajkot with the help of his elder brother.
―But Mohandas was a complete failure as a lawyer in Rajkot
as well as in Bombay when he could not utter a word
during petty cases in court‖. At this juncture, a Memon
from Porbandar, Gandhiji‘s home town, Dada Abdullah
Seth, who had settled in South Africa offered him retainer-
ship on an annual stipend of Pound Sterling 105.00 for
looking after his court cases in Durban. Gandhiji left for
South Africa in April 1893. He spent a full year in the
service of Dada Abdullah Seth who did his best to groom
him as a good lawyer. Gandhiji himself wrote that he was
much inspired by ‗the simple intelligence, honest and non-

69

violent preacher Seth Haji Abdullah Zaveri‖. Gandhiji lived
with Dada. During this period Gandhiji witnessed the
atrocities of whites against Indians and other coloured
people and started participating in agitation against these
atrocities. Meetings of the Indian Patriots were initially held
at Dada‘s office premises, until the Congress House was
established. Dada also contributed immensely for the
expenses of the movement in Durban and Natal.

[Note:- The Dada family was well known to the last
generation of Memons in Alleppey and Kochi. Hussan
Cassum Dada had rice mills in Thiruvarur in Tamilnadu
where many Cutchi Memons worked as managers and
technical hands. Dadas dealt in food grains all over India. I
had the good fortune to be associated with a grand son of
Dada Abdulla Seth while in Chittagong, Bangladesh. (The
Editor)

A MARITIMEADVENTURE RETOLD

An adventure story related to the migration to Arattupuzha
was narrated by Rabia Bai (d. 1951 aged 90) wife of Abdul
Sathar Omar Hashmani. Rabia Bai‘s father and uncles were
good navigators and she was also familiar with the sea.

70

She, with her father set out from Mandvi in Cutch in a sail
boat towards what they called, Malabar. For them the
entire Arabian Sea coast from Beckal (Kannur) down to
Kolachal (Kanya Kumari) was Malabar. The boat had a few
other passengers and she had with her a Sindhi calf and
some beautiful Cutchi furniture and a large wooden box
containing ‗Karachi Halwa‘ made by one of her uncles for
their relatives in Malabar. The boat was supposed to lay
anchor at Kollam or Arattupuzha after a three months long
voyage. The wind was favourable all along and they were
expecting to lay anchor in the next few hours or a day or
two. Suddenly came a strong storm and the furious waves
broke the vessel into pieces. The halwa box also broke into
planks and, Allahu A‘lam, the waves parked her on one of
the planks. She swam for a day and night and then lost
consciousness. She and a couple of others were picked up
by the fishermen when the sea calmed after, she guessed,
some two or three days. They brought her and the plank
she was floating on to the Arattupuzha shore. She was just
seven at that time.

71

According to her one of the reasons that prompted many
subsequent migrations from Cutch was the floods which
submerged the wet lands and consequent impossibility of
cultivation which led to acute famine. (Rabia Bai was the
editor‘s paternal grand mother)

CUTCHI MEMON CLANS
Following the trade or profession in which the Cutchi
Memons were engaged they were recognized as different
households or families known as ‗Nukh‘ in Cutchi or class.
Thus families who were primarily providing services in the
mosques were designated Zikriya; professionals in tailoring
as Sui, masons as Selat, carpenters as Vaaddow; traders in
grains as Peediya, ghee as Ghet, potatoes as Bhatda,
vegetables as Bakalo and so on. Some Cutchi Memons in
Mumbai adopted their professional titles following th Parsi
tradition. For example : Engineer, Banatwala etc. We also
have Japanwala, Kolkatawala, Rangoonwala according to
the place of their first migration or trade affiliation.
Curiouly enough there were no butchers, Qasayis, among
the known Memon families. Memons used to carry their
surname according to the name of the father or a

72

prominent ancestor also: Noorani, Sobhani, Hashimani etc.
The ‗ani‘ with which these family names end follow the
Sindhi tradition still found in the names like Asrani, Advani,
etc. Some carried the name of their Nukh or customary
profession even when they went for some other type of
work and the class name continued as a perpetual
appendage. Thus a member of the Sui family was still a Sui
(Tailor) irrespective of whether he is now a medicine man
or a car driver.

[Dr. Ismail Sui is a well known physician in Dindigul. I met
one Ibrahim Sui, a taxi driver, in Abdasa, a village in the
rural Cutch. His mother, Aisam Bai Suiyani, who runs a
cattle farm, recalled that some of her ancestors had
migrated to Malabar! Incidentally, most of the Cutchi
Memon families in Kerala have their roots in Bhuj or
Abdasa. The Selatenji Deli, a vast complex of houses near
Sangdi Masjid in Bhuj stands, in records, in the name of
one Abu Selat who migrated to Malabar long ago. The
complex is occupied by Hindu families after it was
declared evacuee property after the last known Memon
occupant left for Pakistan.- Editor]

73

EVOLUTION OF THE NAMING STYLE

Cutchi Memons migrated from Cutch at the beginning of
the 19th century and settled down as traders mainly in
port towns. Some even went to other places in Africa and
the Middle East. Their honesty, hard work and charitable
nature resulted in enormous prosperity in business. They
became so well known in main trading centers of coastal
India that the words ―Cutchi Memon‖ meant ―businessman‖.
The local people were so impressed by their generous
nature that almost every Cutchi Memon was greeted by the
local populations as ―Seth‖ meaning a rich man or rich
businessman, according to the prevailing custom among
the people of Mumbai and north Indian states as a mark of
respect. ―Seth‖ in the Gujarati language and the Cutchi
dialect means a male of great power and control, usually
the headman of the clan or tribe. Gandhiji refers, in his
autobiography, to the Seth of his community who
countermanded him from going abroad for studies.

When some of the Cutchi Memons migrated to the South
Indian cities, particularly to the then Travancore, they were
similarly addressed with the appellation of ―Sett‖ as people

74

of most of the southern states and Punjab would not
pronounce the word as accurately as the north Indians,
particularly by the Tamil oriented Travancoreans. The title
got further skewed, phonetically, by the Turkish oriented
Pathans then in administration to Sait (one can find Saits in
Turkey). Sait then became a surname for them and their
children. Cutchi Memons spread from Travancore to other
States, though a few families joined them directly from
Kutchch in the meantime. After independence many Cutchi
families migrated to Pakistan; but migration from South
India was very very insignificant, and whoever migrated
retained the title Sait (Eg. Haji Abdul Sathar Sait, who was
the first Pak Ambassador to the United Arab Republic) and
are understood to be migrants via South. At some stage
the family name and the class name disappeared and
Father‘s name shrank to initials, the title ―Sait‖ assuming
their place and thus creating a new style of naming.

While Cutchi Memon men have this unique surname SAIT
and women are invariably addressed as BAI, Bai being a
common appellation in northern India for women in high
position e.g. Rani Lakshmi Bai.

75

QayadoCutchi Jo

A separate booklet has been made on the subject
and is available free on the net‘ Please browse with
httP;//anyflip.com/bookcase/mleeu. Companion
volumes of Teach Yourself Cutchi can also be
pickedup from the same bookcase.

E Books you can pick up from the same Bookcase
Woman in MSME: She Climbs to Conquer

Master Volume and individual Volumes I to IV
Two Miraculous Drops

Fiction based on life experience on Polio
Eradication Campaigns in Uttar Pradesh
I’m Sheela
Real Story as autobiography of a street dog

Single volumes in English
Individual Parts 1 to3 in Malayalam

76

The Editor

GREY,
BUT STILL GREEN AT 81
REFUSING TO FADE
DR. J.M.I. SAIT

PhD, FBIM, FCMA, FCS,
DipMA, DIOMI, MAAA, MENSA

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