Calling Sehmat
HARINDER SIKKA CALLING SEHMAT PENGUIN BOOKS Contents Prologue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Epilogue Acknowledgements Follow Penguin Copyright PENGUIN BOOKS CALLING SEHMAT Harinder Sikka is currently the group director, strategic business, Piramal Group. After graduating from Delhi University, he joined the Indian Navy. He was commissioned in January 1981 and took premature retirement in 1993 as a Lieutenant Commander. He recently produced a film, Nanak Shah Fakir, which won acclaim at the international film festivals in Cannes, Toronto and Los Angeles. The film won three national awards, including the Nargis Dutt Award for best feature film on national integration. Calling Sehmat is his second book. It is being made into a film, Raazi, by Meghna Gulzar, scheduled for release in May 2018. Sikka lives in New Delhi with his family. Prologue In the semi-darkness of dawn the muezzin called out, ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar . .’ His passionate, full-throated appeal to the Almighty broke the stillness of the new day and slowly Maler Kotla began to stir. As if on cue, the sun gasped through the horizon, flushing the rapidly brightening sky with redness. Yet another day crept into the lives of its residents. Except for one. Standing tall and in full glory, the white marble haveli surrounded by lush green lawns had lost its main occupant in the wee hours. For the villagers, especially the women, it was not a mere structure of stone but a symbol of peace, a shrine which they could visit any time and be heard.
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