As the sun sets over the Tharparkar desert, casting a warm golden hue across the landscape, the courtyard of a little-known ashram [hermitage] in Islamkot transforms into a lively haven. Flocks of birds arrive to roost, filling the air with their chirps and songs, as locals bring grain offerings.

“This ashram is run on pure faith and love,” says Lachman Das, now in his eighties. He has spent the last two decades as the caretaker of the Sant Nenuram Ashram. The ashram feeds more than a thousand people a day, as well as tens of thousands of animals and birds, almost entirely through community support and without government funding.

“When Sant Nenuram was alive, he would walk through the town’s streets, visiting different shops to collect donations and flour to serve the needy,” Das tells Eos. “To keep his sacred memory and mission alive, we continue this work today.”

For Das, the hermitage embodies Tharparkar’s long tradition of coexistence and seva [service]. This tradition of seva — or sheva as it is pronounced in Thar — dates back generations and is deeply intertwined with the mystical, pluralistic culture of Sindh. The tradition continues to thrive in Islamkot, a historic desert town shaded by ancient neem trees.

For decades, the Sant Nenuram Ashram in Thar has offered free meals to anyone who arrives at its doors, continuing a tradition of community service that extends from people to animals and birds

For decades, the Sant Nenuram Ashram in Thar has offered free meals to anyone who arrives at its doors, continuing a tradition of community service that extends from people to animals and........

© Dawn (Magazines)