As the world ushered in the first day of 2014, Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) organized a day- long event to remember the 26 years of Safdar Hashmi’s martyrdom. Interestingly this year also marks his 60th birthday. The Constituiton Club Annexe, Delhi was the venue of this politically and socially significant event. The extravaganza like show had artists from varied walks of life coming together on a co0mmon platform to remember the sacrifice of a person whose life was cruelly cut short by those who were not comfortable with his outspoken, non-conformist and radical methods. The day was marked by a series of heart warming and spell-bounding performances that left all those present in complete awe.
This year’s memorial programme paid tribute to iconic Hindi short-story writer, novelist and playwright Bhisham Sahni. This year marks the birth centenary year of the legend. Younger brother of acclaimed actor and social activist Balraj Sahni, Bhisham Sahni was born on 8th August 2105 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Bhisham Sahni was the general secretary of Progressive Writer’s Association (PWA) and was also the founder chairman of SAHMAT. Sahni is known for his poignant writings on partition. Apart from his several novels on this theme he is popularly known for his heart piercing rendition of partition in his TV serial Tamas. Bhisham Sahni was awarded the Padma Bhushan in for his literary works in 1998 and Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002.
The day-long event was kicked off with a street theatre performance by Bigul. The play staged by the group was based on one of Bhisham Sahni’s short stories Safai Abhiyan. The engaging performance was extremely relevant from the point of view of the current political situation. This was followed by another performance by Haryana Gyan Vigyan Samiti, Rohtak, Haryana. The theme of this play was too based on a short story penned by Sahni titled Kapat Muni Ka Kunba.  The play’s script was penned by noted Hindi writer Manmohan and it threw light on several aspects of the current political situation. The enthralling performances by the actors of the two plays kept the audience engaged till the end.
The two plays were followed by a classical singing performance by Tanveer Ahmed Khan and his group followed by Priya Kanungo and her group. Both the classical singers were performing for the first time on the SAHMAT platform.  Though very young the performances of both the singers was flawless and sweet to ears. These were followed by a series of protest songs sung beautifully by Murry Scott. The rendition of these songs by Scott was one of the highlights of the evening.
As the evening progressed and grew chilly; performances by stalwarts of music including Vidya Shah, Harpreet, Jasbeer Jassi and Madangopal Singh provided warmth and excitement to the rapt audience. The classical renditions of a variety of folk songs by Vidya Shah and Madangopal Singh were exceptional and were an icing on the cake. Their performances were eagerly looked forward by everyone present and were extremely well-received by the captivated audience.
One of the last events of the day was that of Astad Deboo, an internationally acclaimed exponent of modern dance.   
The event also saw the release of a calendar and a diary which had some rare photographs depicting Bhisham Sahni’s eventful life and his association with Safdar Hashmi and SAHMAT. A film depicting some interesting and significant moments of Bhisham Sahni’s life was also shown during the course of the programme. The film was directed by Nandan Kodiyadi. One of the highlights of the event was the release of two books pertaining to Bhisham Sahni. While one of the books Veero is a collection of short stories penned by Sahni; the other book Bhisham Sahni-A Mukkamal Rachnakar is a critical appraisal of the great author edited by Rajendra Sharma.
   An interesting and an eye-catching photo exhibition on Bhisham Sahni was also mounted at the venue. The colourful exhibition threw light on several interesting aspects of Sahni’s life.