Ananta Press is delighted to congratulate Prashantha Naveen Karkera, author of Hijack: And Its Repercussions, on her official nomination for the prestigious Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award in recognition of a deeply personal, historically significant, and emotionally compelling work of non-fiction.
Some books emerge from imagination, while others are born from experiences so extraordinary that preserving them becomes an act of remembrance. Hijack: And Its Repercussions belongs firmly to the latter category. It takes readers into the terrifying events surrounding the 1998 hijacking of the cargo vessel Princess Kash, captained by the author’s husband, Captain Bangare Navindra Karkera.
The incident unfolded against the volatile background of the Sri Lankan civil war. In August 1998, Princess Kash, carrying a predominantly Indian crew, was seized by the LTTE off the Mullaitivu coast in north-eastern Sri Lanka. The vessel was subsequently bombed and destroyed, while uncertainty surrounded the fate of those aboard. Shivshankar Menon, who was serving at the Indian High Commission in Colombo at the time, recalls in the book’s preface that the High Commission’s immediate priority was the welfare of the Indians aboard and that diplomatic efforts ultimately helped secure the release of Captain Karkera and the Indian crew, who returned home by August 22, 1998.
Yet Hijack: And Its Repercussions is far more than an account of a maritime hijacking or a moment in South Asian political history. At its emotional centre is a wife suddenly confronted with the possibility that her husband may never return.
Prashantha Naveen Karkera describes learning of the hijacking through a newspaper report on August 15, 1998, a day that had begun in celebration of India’s Independence Day. Within moments, happiness was replaced by fear when reports suggested that the vessel had been bombed and that there might be no survivors. Her husband was the captain of that very ship. The account captures the devastating transition from ordinary domestic life to uncertainty, helplessness, and a desperate struggle for information.
What makes this work especially worthy of nomination is the author’s refusal to remain merely an observer of events. Faced with an international crisis, she transformed her fear into action. She contacted diplomatic authorities, appealed to government representatives, communicated with the Indian High Commission, and persistently sought intervention for her husband and the other crew members. Her story therefore becomes not simply one of survival, but also one of courage discovered under extraordinary circumstances.
The Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award Committee found particular literary and human value in the way Hijack: And Its Repercussions connects a major geopolitical incident with the intimate realities experienced by families behind the headlines. Wars, hijackings, bombings, and diplomatic disputes are often reduced to statistics and news reports. Prashantha Naveen Karkera reminds readers that behind every headline are spouses, children, parents, and families living through consequences that cannot be captured by official statements alone.
This deeply human perspective gives the book its originality.
The narrative also explores integrity and reputation. Captain Karkera faced suspicion amid the confusion surrounding the vessel and its cargo. For his family, therefore, the struggle was not only for his physical safety but also for the preservation of his honour. The eventual release of the Indian crew and the return of Captain Karkera with his integrity intact transformed an experience of fear into one of profound gratitude and reflection.
The book carries another powerful message: extraordinary strength can emerge from people who have never considered themselves extraordinary. The author describes how the crisis changed her from a carefree and timid woman into someone determined to fight for the lives of those aboard. That transformation gives the narrative relevance beyond the historical incident itself. It speaks to readers about courage, perseverance, family, hope, faith, uncertainty, and the human instinct to keep fighting even when circumstances appear hopeless.
The significance of the work is further strengthened by Shivshankar Menon’s preface. Describing the book as the telling of a human story by someone who was intimately and emotionally involved in the events, he expresses gratitude to the author for bringing this portion of history to the public and voices the hope that it will be widely read.
There is also a profoundly moving personal dimension to the book’s preservation of memory. The author records that she later lost her husband in February 2017 after a prolonged illness, making this recollection not merely documentation of an extraordinary episode but also a tribute to a man whose survival in 1998 became an unforgettable chapter in the family’s life.
Through the Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award, Ananta Press seeks to recognise works that possess literary merit while also contributing something meaningful to readers and society. Hijack: And Its Repercussions exemplifies that purpose through its combination of personal testimony, historical memory, emotional honesty, resilience, and reflection.
The Award Committee is therefore pleased to officially nominate Prashantha Naveen Karkera for the Ananta Press Sahitya Ratna Award and congratulates her on bringing this remarkable story into the literary world.
We extend our heartfelt best wishes to Prashantha Naveen Karkera for the next stage of the award journey. Her contribution ensures that an extraordinary chapter of history, and the courage of those who lived through it, will not simply disappear with time.
Congratulations to Prashantha Naveen Karkera on this well-deserved nomination, and best wishes to Hijack: And Its Repercussions for reaching, moving, and inspiring readers for years to come.
