ON January 1, 2024, Harkishen Singh Surjeet Bhavan was the venue for the 36th Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust’s annual celebrations. Organised every year to mark the life, the works and the ideals of Safdar Hashmi who was attacked on this day while performing a street play with his troupe, Jan Natya Manch, SAHMAT has become a cultural artefact in its own right. This year was a somber occasion as SAHMAT lost one of its most beloved and avid supporter in Comrade Sitaram Yechury, General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).