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{{Short description|Indian writer, oral historian and artist}}<br />
{{Infobox writer<br />
| name = Saaz Aggarwal<br />
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1961|10|5}}<br />
| occupation = {{Cslist|biographer, oral historian, artist}}<br />
| website = {{URL|https://saazaggarwal.com/}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''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 of India|Partition]] experiences of the [[Sindhi Hindus|Sindhi diaspora]], her writing and art also prominently feature themes of satire and parody.<ref name=Songbird>{{Cite book |title=The songbird on my shoulder : confessions of an unrepentant madam | first=Saaz | last=Aggarwal. |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/SCSB-14413629 |via=[[Princeton University Library]]|date=2012 |isbn=978-81-922728-1-8 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=21 March 2017 |title=My 1.2 foot vagina |url=http://agentsofishq.com/1-2-foot-vagina/ |website=Agents of Ishq}}</ref><br />
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== Early life and education ==<br />
Saaz was born in [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai) in 1961 and grew up in the [[Nilgiri Mountains|Nilgiris]], where her father worked as a tea planter. She attended boarding school from the age of five,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=17 November 2011 |title=Take Me Home |url=https://openthemagazine.com/essays/true-life/take-me-home/ |work=[[Open (Indian magazine)]]}}</ref> spending her final six years at [[Lawrence School, Lovedale|The Lawrence School, Lovedale]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Varma |first=Amit |date=19 December 2022 |title=Episode 308: Saaz Aggarwal Enters a Vanished Homeland |url=https://seenunseen.in/episodes/2022/12/19/episode-308-saaz-aggarwal-enters-a-vanished-homeland/ |website=The Seen & the Unseen}}</ref> Saaz pursued a Bachelor of Science in mathematics at [[Jai Hind College]], Mumbai, followed by an Master of Science in mathematics at [[University of Mumbai|Mumbai University]] in 1982.<br />
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== Language, loss and cultural exploration ==<br />
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 [[Sindhis|Sindhi]], both from families with multiple generations of formal education.<ref>{{Cite web |last=The 1947 Partition Archive |date=18 July 2022 |title=Day 46 of '75 Days of Partition' - The Sindhi Refugee Experience |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyhtgPBE5qI&ab_channel=1947PartitionArchive |website= |publisher=[[The 1947 Partition Archive]] |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=26 January 2024 |title=The Partition and beyond: Sindhi Stories, Struggles, and Success with Saaz Aggarwal {{!}} Indian Explorers podcast by Amit Nawalrai and Sabrina Scott |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2r3HMcWEvMs |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
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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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=28 January 2023 |title=A mother tongue Partition consumed intact: The depletion and revival of Sindhi language and culture |url=https://scroll.in/article/1042577/a-mother-tongue-partition-consumed-intact-the-depletion-and-revival-of-sindhi-language-and-culture |work=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=9 February 2023 |title=Jaipur Literature Festival {{!}} The Call of the Mother Tongue {{!}} Loquations and Dislocations |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se9qAfuQDz8&ab_channel=JaipurLiteratureFestival |website=[[Jaipur Literature Festival]] |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
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== Early career and journalism ==<br />
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HLF {{!}} Speaker {{!}} Saaz Aggarwal |url=https://www.hydlitfest.org/blog/speaker/saaz-aggarwal/ |website=Hyderabad Literature Festival}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bangalore Literature Festival {{!}} Participant {{!}} Saaz Aggarwal |url=https://bangaloreliteraturefestival.org/participant/2022-saaz-aggarwal/ |website=Bangalore Literature Festival}}</ref> 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.<br />
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In 1993, after marrying Ajay Aggarwal, Saaz moved to Pune. For the next few years, she was Pune correspondent for ''[[Femina (India)|Femina]]'' and contributed regular columns and articles to local and national publications, including ''[[Maharashtra Herald]]'', [[The Indian Express|''Indian Express'']], ''[[Sunday Mid-Day]]'', [[Verve (Indian magazine)|''Verve'']], and [[Outlook (Indian magazine)|''Outlook'']]. From 1998 to 2006, Saaz worked as Head of [[Human resources|Human Resources]] and Quality at Seacom, an [[Information technology|Information Technology]] company co-founded with her husband, eventually selling Seacom to [[Zensar Technologies|Zensar]] in 2006.<ref>{{Cite news |date=6 February 2013 |title=Zensar buys Seacom's POS solutions, customer base |url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/zensar-buys-seacom-s-pos-solutions-customer-base-106030301052_1.htmlt |work=[[Business Standard]]}}</ref> 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.<br />
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== Memoirs and corporate biographies ==<br />
Beginning in 2006, Saaz started helping individuals and corporations document their histories. Notable works include:<br />
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* ''Did I Really Do All This'' (2024) memoirs of Vijay Raman, published by ''[[Rupa Publications]]''.<br />
* ''Building Dreams'' (2022) memoirs of Vasudevan Ramamoorthy, founding Chairman of Vascon Engineers Ltd.<br />
* ''The Weikfield Legacy Stories'' (2022). <br />
* ''An Elephant Kissed My Window and other stories from the tea plantations of South India'' (2019) co-written with M. Ravindran.<ref>{{Cite book |title=An elephant kissed my window : and other stories from the tea plantations of South India / M Ravindran & Saaz Aggarwal. |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99127097831206421 |via=[[Princeton University Library]] |date=2020 |isbn=9789383465149 |last1=Ravindran |first1=M. |last2=Aggarwal |first2=Saaz |publisher=Black-and-White Fountain }}</ref> <br />
* ''Even Against All Odds'' (2019) memoirs of Sunder Advani, a pioneer of India's luxury hotel segment.<br />
* ''The Forbes Marshall Story'' (2016) – Corporate history of [[Forbes Marshall]].<br />
* ''Forgotten Tales from my Village, Harwai'' (2015) – memoirs of Hari Gobind Narayan Dubey.<br />
* ''Odyssey'' (2014) – memoirs of Dr. N.P. Tolani.<br />
* ''Bicycles, Boilers, and Beliefs'' (2011) – memoirs of Darius Forbes.<br />
* ''The Spirit of Sandvik'' (2010) – Corporate history of [[Sandvik|Sandvik Asia]].<br />
* ''There’s No Such Thing as a Self-Made Man'' (2008) – memoirs of P.P. Chhabria, founder of [[Finolex Group|Finolex]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=There's no such thing as a self-made man / by Pralhad P. Chhabria; [text, Saaz Aggarwal]. |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/SCSB-5499428 |via=[[Princeton University Library]] |date=2008 |isbn=9788190351430 |last1=Chhabria |first1=Pralhad P. |publisher=Ameya Prakashan }}</ref><br />
* ''Doing it My Way'' (2006) – memoirs of S.P. Malhotra, founder of Weikfield.<br />
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== Art and exhibitions ==<br />
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 art|Madhubani]] folk style.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chari |first=Mridula |date=27 October 2014 |title=Eight vibrant images of Mumbai with a folksy Madhubani twist |url=https://scroll.in/article/684705/Eight-vibrant-images-of-Mumbai-with-a-folksy-Madhubani-twist |work=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref><br />
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From 26 January 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ray |first=Kunal |date=23 September 2016 |title=Art in the Bazaar |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/magazine/Art-in-the-bazaar/article14028726.ece |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref><br />
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== Publishing and Sindhi heritage ==<br />
In 2010, Saaz founded Black-and-White Fountain, a publishing imprint, and released ''The Songbird on My Shoulder'',<ref name=Songbird /> a collection of her humour and parody writings.<br />
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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.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Sindh : stories from a lost homeland / Saaz Aggarwal. |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9982037613506421 |website=[[Princeton University Library]]|date=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-906861-6 |last1=Aggarwal |first1=Saaz |publisher=Oxford University Press }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ansari |first=Sarah |date=20 January 2013 |title=Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Land by Saaz Aggarwal |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/780096 |work=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=17 February 2013 |title=KLF-2013: Book Launch: Sindh Stories from a Lost Homeland (17.2.2013) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TTaTHdDMoE&ab_channel=KarachiLitFestival |website=Karachi Literature Festival 2013 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
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Her contributions to documenting and preserving Sindhi heritage include:<br />
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=== Books authored ===<br />
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* ''Sindh: Stories from a Vanished Homeland'' (2012) <ref>{{Cite book |title=Sindh : stories from a vanished homeland / Saaz Aggarwal |url=https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99127184635006421 |website=[[Princeton University Library]]|date=2012 |isbn=978-81-922728-5-6 |last1=Aggarwal |first1=Saaz |publisher=Black and White Fountain }}</ref> <br />
* ''Sindh: Stories from a Lost Homeland'' (2013) `– published by Oxford University Press (Pakistan) <br />
* ''Tales from Yerwada Jail'' by Rita Shahani, translated by Saaz Aggarwal (2013) {{ISBN|978-81-922728-4-9}}<br />
* ''The Amils of Sindh: a Narrative History of a Remarkable Community'' (2019) {{ISBN|978-93-83465-08-8}}<br />
* ''Sindhi Tapestry: An Anthology of Reflections on the Sindhi Identity'' (2021) – featuring sixty short pieces by various contributors, including academics, poets, writers, and celebrities. The anthology explores facets of the evolving Sindhi identity through personal narratives and rare archival photographs. <br />
* ''Losing Home, Finding Home'', (2022) an illustrated collection of selected stories which trace the experience of Sindhi Partition refugees, highlighting their resilience and contributions and a glimpse into the global diaspora.<br />
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=== Books published ===<br />
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* ''Sunrise Over Valiwade'' by Susheel Gajwani (2024) {{ISBN|978-93-83465-43-9}}<br />
* ''Refugees in their own country'' by Sunayna Pal (2022) <br />
* ''While Sowing Dreams'' by Mohan Gehani (2021) {{ISBN|978-93-83465-25-5}}<br />
* ''My Sindh'' by Shakuntala Bharvani (2021) {{ISBN|978-93-83465-24-8}}<br />
* ''Beyond the Rainbow'' by Murli Melwani (2020) {{ISBN|978-93-83465-16-3}}<br />
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=== Literary and academic articles and presentations on Sindh ===<br />
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* ''Hemu Kalani: A lost freedom hero from Sindh and a homeland cleaved apart'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=15 August 2024 |title=Hemu Kalani: A lost freedom hero from Sindh and a homeland cleaved apart |url=https://scroll.in/article/1071934/hemu-kalani-a-lost-hero-from-sindh-and-a-homeland-cleaved-apart |work=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref> published in ''Scroll.in'', 15 August 2024<br />
* ''A mother tongue Partition consumed intact'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=28 January 2023 |title=A mother tongue Partition consumed intact: The depletion and revival of Sindhi language and culture |url=https://scroll.in/article/1042577/a-mother-tongue-partition-consumed-intact-the-depletion-and-revival-of-sindhi-language-and-culture |work=Scroll.in}}</ref> published in ''Scroll.in'', 29 January 2023<br />
* ''Urban Legacies – tracing the Sindhi and Parsi heritage of Mumbai'',<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 January 2023 |title=Uncovering Urban Legacies: Tracing the Sindhi and Parsi Heritage of Bombay |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2B00HSqQs&feature=youtu.be |website=Avid Learning |via=YouTube}}</ref> [https://avidlearning.in/event-details/13/uncovering-urban-legacies-tracing-the-sindhi-26-parsi-heritage-of-bombay Avid Learning], 17 January 2023<br />
* ''Kindness in the time of Partition'' <ref>{{Cite web |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=29 October 2022 |title=Kindness in the Time of Partition |url=https://www.usawa.in/issue-8/non-fiction-8/kindness-in-the-time-of-partition/#saaz |website=The Usawa Literary Review}}</ref> in ''The Usawa Literary Review'', 29 October 2022<br />
* ''For Sindhis, Partition Meant Loss of a Homeland, of a Culture and a Language'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=19 August 2022 |title=For Sindhis, Partition Meant Loss of a Homeland, of a Culture and a Language |url=https://thewire.in/history/for-sindhis-partition-meant-loss-of-a-homeland-of-a-culture-and-a-language |work=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> in ''[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]'', 19 August 2022<br />
* ''The pain of Partition as seen in the literature of many languages'' <ref>{{Cite news |date=14 August 2022 |title=The Pain of Partition, as Seen in the Literature of Many Languages |url=https://thewire.in/books/the-pain-of-partition-as-seen-in-the-literature-of-many-languages |work=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> in ''The Wire'', 14 August 2022<br />
* ''How refugees from Sindh rebuilt their lives – and India – after Partition'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=13 August 2022 |title=How refugees from Sindh rebuilt their lives – and India – after Partition |url=https://scroll.in/article/1030368/the-story-of-sindh-and-how-its-refugees-rebuilt-their-lives-and-india-after-partition |work=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref> in Scroll.in, 13 August 2022<br />
* Podcast with [[Sonal Kalra|Sonam Kalra]] for [[The 1947 Partition Archive]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kalra |first=Sonam |date=18 July 2022 |title=Day 46 of '75 Days of Partition' - The Sindhi Refugee Experience |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyhtgPBE5qI |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> on 18 July 2022<br />
* ''Sindhiness and the untold truth about Partition'' on the ''Global Indian Series'' podcast with Rajan Singh Nazrana <ref>{{Cite web |last=Nazrana |first=Rajan Singh |date=30 March 2022 |title=Sindhiness and the untold truth about Partition |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzzj0zIQiUQ&ab_channel=GlobalIndianNetwork |website=Global Indian Series Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> on 30 March 2022<br />
* [[Sahitya Akademi]] seminar on Sindhi writers who have contributed in languages other than Sindhi, paper on ''Dr'' ''Murli Melwani: A Writer of Significant Influence'',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |title=Murli Melwani: A Writer of Significant Influence |url=https://www.academia.edu/73699357 |website=[[Academia.edu]]|date=January 2022 }}</ref> 4 February 2022<br />
* ''Memories and history: how Partition affected the lives of ordinary people,'' public lecture at [https://ohai.info/ Oral History Association of India (OHAI)] workshop <ref>{{Cite web |date=11 October 2020 |title=Memories and history: how Partition affected the lives of ordinary people |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luy66JRIKKQ&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Oral History Association of India |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> on 11 October 2020<br />
* ''Rootless - but bound by ties that encircle the globe,'' talk at [[IIT Kharagpur]] Partition Lecture Series 2020 <ref>{{Cite web |date=21 September 2020 |title=Rootless - but bound by ties that encircle the globe |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JD8Wx_T3E4&ab_channel=Tapestry |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> on 21 September 2020<br />
* ''Freedom fighters: The inspiring story of a Sindhi woman, Kala Shahani, and her husband Shanti'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=15 August 2019 |title=Freedom fighters: The inspiring story of a Sindhi woman, Kala Shahani, and her husband Shanti |url=https://scroll.in/article/933798/freedom-fighters-the-inspiring-story-of-a-sindhi-woman-kala-shahani-and-her-husband-shanti |work=[[Scroll.in]]}}</ref> in Scroll.in, 15 August 2019<br />
* ''After Partition, Sindhis Turned Displacement Into Determination and Enterprise'' article on Partition for ''The Wire'' <ref>{{Cite news |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |date=11 August 2017 |title=After Partition, Sindhis Turned Displacement Into Determination and Enterprise |url=https://thewire.in/166634/after-partition-displacement-of-sindhis-turned-into-determination-and-enterprise/ |work=[[The Wire (India)|The Wire]]}}</ref> on 11 August 2017<br />
* ''Wherever'': a paper presented at the Conference ''Sindh Through The Centuries'' by [[Sindh Madressatul Islam University]] in Karachi <ref>{{Cite web |last=Aggarwal |first=Saaz |title=Wherever |url=https://www.academia.edu/6981074 |website=[[Academia.edu]]}}</ref> 25 March 2014<br />
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=== Tapestry podcast ===<br />
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* Sindhi food – beyond papad! With Sapna Ajwani | Episode 8 <ref>{{Cite web |date=20 June 2023 |title=Their dedication to education {{!}} Tapestry Podcast {{!}} Ep 7 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJxxgy7xltg&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Their dedication to education | Episode 7 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Their dedication to education {{!}} Tapestry Podcast {{!}} Ep 7 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJxxgy7xltg&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast | date=12 June 2023 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Partition with Nandita Bhavnani | Episode 6 <ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2023 |title=Partition {{!}} Tapestry Podcast {{!}} Ep 6 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2RCk9_twB0&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Fighting for Freedom with Subash Bijlani | Episode 5 <ref>{{Cite web |date=30 May 2023 |title=Fighting for Freedom |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8xOfcrutYI&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Sindhi multinationals in colonial times with Claude Markovits | Episode 4 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Sindhi multinationals in colonial times |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSdElhNMjpA&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast | date=22 May 2023 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Land of multi-faith harmony with Zulfiqar Ali Kalhoro | Episode 3 <ref>{{Cite web |title=Land of multi-faith harmony |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EwPK8oOjzg&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast | date=15 May 2023 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* I left my heart in … | Episode 2 <ref>{{Cite web |date=9 May 2023 |title=I left my heart in... |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBwZElw4SOA&ab_channel=Tapestry |website=Tapestry Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
* Stories from a Vanished Homeland | Episode 1 <ref>{{Cite web |date=2 May 2023 |title=Stories from a Vanished Homeland |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4re32Rh6ek |website=Tapestry Podcast |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><br />
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== References ==<br />
<references /><br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aggarwal, Saaz}}<br />
[[Category:1961 births]]<br />
[[Category:Living people]]<br />
[[Category:Writers from Mumbai]]<br />
[[Category:Indian women writers]]<br />
[[Category:Jai Hind College alumni]]<br />
[[Category:University of Mumbai alumni]]</div>AgnesOppen5