LAHORE: Famous Urdu novelist Razia Butt passed away here on Thursday night. She was 88.

Born Razia Niaz in Rawalpindi in 1924, she spent most of her childhood in Peshawar. Her name first appeared in a literary journal around 1940 when she was in her teens. She later developed her first published story into a novel, Naila.

Married in 1946, Razia Butt resumed writing in 1950s after a break of some years. She was later hailed as one of the prolific writers of her time, with some 50 novels and 350 short stories to her credit. She also wrote many radio plays.

Being a contemporary of many famous names in Urdu fiction writing, Razia Butt carved a niche and a market for herself by perfecting a particular brand of storytelling. Her style was close to cinema’s so-called ‘Muslim social drama’ trend. Not surprisingly, many of her novels, such as Saiqa and Naila, were adapted for the big screen. She was also a favourite of television producers looking to turn a novel into a TV drama serial.

Popular with many generations of readers, Razia Butt came up with an autobiography a decade ago.—Dawn Report