Sulekha Hussain, South Indian Urdu novelist passed away at her residence at Vaduthala on Tuesday. She was 85. She is survived by a daughter.
Born in a well-off Katchi Memon family at Mattancherry in 1930 lost her parents at a very young age and was brought up by her grandfather, Jani Sait, an Urdu poet. Complete her primary education at the Mattancherry Asia Bahi madrasa and studied Urdu and Arabic.
With her husband’s patronage she began writing. Sulekha penned about 27 novels and many short stories, all in Urdu. Some of her novels, Dishvar Huva Jeena, Rah Akeli, Ek Khyab Hakhikhath, and Marla he Kali were widely read in
several North Indian cities and Pakistan.
Sulekha’s most famous novel, Tharikhion Ke Baad, was translated into Malayalam by K. Ravi Varma in the 1980s.
She was nominated to the committee awarding fellowships in Urdu language by the Union Cultural Affairs Ministry in 2012, considering her contributions to Urdu literature. Her son, Faraqu, passed away in 2010.