Jammu, September 30, 2026: The Literary Club, University of Jammu, under the aegis of Utsaah, organised ‘Kitabnama’, a group reading session centred on the celebrated Hindi short story Chief Ki Dawat by renowned writer Bhisham Sahni, at the Padma Sachdev Sur Samvad Rangsthal, University of Jammu. The programme brought together students from various departments of the University for an engaging literary experience centred on reading, reflection and dialogue.
Prof. Sadaf Shah, Coordinator, Literary Club, Utsaah, formally welcomed the distinguished guests, Padma Shri Prof. Lalit Magotra, Chief Guest, and Jb. Zafar Choudhary, Editor-inChief, The Dispatch, Guest of Honour, along with faculty members and students. In her welcome address, Prof. Sadaf Shah introduced the students to the life and literary contribution of Bhisham Sahni, with particular emphasis on Chief Ki Dawat, one of his widely recognised short stories.
She contextualised the story by highlighting its exploration of family relationships, social attitudes, appearances, human values and the treatment of ageing, thereby providing students with a meaningful context for engaging with the text.
Padma Shri Prof. Lalit Magotra, Chief Guest, also interacted with the students and encouraged them to continue reading literature as a means of exploring collective thinking, human experiences and universal values. His observations added further depth to the discussion and underlined the enduring relevance of literature in understanding society and human relationships.
Speaking on the occasion, Jb. Zafar Choudhary emphasised the significance of such literary initiatives and intellectual conversations in developing a culture of reading and critical engagement among young people. He encouraged students to cultivate the habit of reading and to engage with literature through discussion and reflection.
The central feature of Kitabnama was a collective reading session, in which students were given dedicated time to read the short story and engage with it from their own perspectives. The reading was followed by an interactive discussion, with students sharing their responses, observations and interpretations of the text. The format encouraged participants to move beyond conventional classroom reading and experience literature as a shared and dialogic activity.
The initiative ‘Kitabnama’ seeks to promote reading habits among students while creating a shared space for literary engagement, critical thinking and meaningful dialogue. Through its collective reading format, the initiative aims to strengthen the culture of reading on the University campus and encourage students to approach literary texts through reflection,
conversation and multiple perspectives. The Literary Club envisages Kitabnama as a monthly literary initiative, with regular group reading sessions centred on significant literary works.
The programme concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Prof. Sadaf Shah, Coordinator,Literary Club, University of Jammu, who expressed gratitude to the distinguished guests, faculty members and students for their presence and active participation in making the initiative a meaningful literary experience.
Among those present on the occasion were Prof. Parmil Kumar, Dr. Neeraj Sharma, Dr. Sandeep Singh, Dr. Bharti and Mr. Irfan Gooni, besides faculty members and students from various departments of the University.
