‘Inscribing Sehmat: A tete-a-tete with Harinder Sikka’

The Department of English and Centre of Research in association with the Department of Communicative English and Golden Jubilee Memorial Library organised an interactive session with the popular writer Sri Harinder Sikka, the author of the best-selling novel, Calling Sehmat called ‘Inscribing Sehmat: A tete-a-tete with Harinder Sikka’ on Wednesday, 14 November 2018 at 1.30 pm in the Seminar Hall. The event was occasioned by an M.Phil scholar of the Department, Ms. Midhu Elizabeth George whose dissertation on Calling Sehmat caught the attention of the author. Sri Harinder Sikka is a former Lieutenant Commander from the Indian Navy and a prolific writer who has written over a hundred articles on issues relating to national security, health, IPR&TRIPS and counterfeiting. His debut novel Calling Sehmat published by Penguin Random House in May 2018 inspired the Alia Bhatt-starrer Bollywood movie Raazi directed by Meghna Gulzar.

The official function began at 1. 30 pm with an invocation to the Lord Almighty. This was followed by welcome address by the Head of the Department, Dr. Beena Job and felicitation by the Director of the college, Rev. Dr. Sr. Vinitha. Sri. Harinder Sikka spoke about his book and his eighteen years’ long journey with ‘Sehmat’. Ms. Midhu Elizabeth George introduced her dissertation titled “Situating Trauma in the ambit of Bio-politics: A Reading on Calling Sehmat” after which she initiated the interactive section with Sri Sikka. Vote of thanks was proposed by Rose Taniya Joly of II M.A English. The autographed copies of the novel by the author were made available at the stall by penguin books and with that the session came to an end.