LAHORE: Renowned Urdu novelist Abdullah Hussain passed away on Saturday. He was 84.

Mr Hussain’s family told Dawn that he had been suffering from blood cancer for the past one year. He was taken to the National Defence Hospital on Friday after his condition deteriorated. Later, he was brought back to his home where he died.

Abdullah Hussain (real name Mohammad Khan) is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

His funeral took place in front of his daughter’s residence in the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and was attended by a large number of literary luminaries, friends and relatives.

Qul will be held between Asr and Maghrib at 232-Y Block, DHA, on Sunday.

Among his famous novels are Udas Naslain, Baagh, Nadaar Loag and collections of short stories Faraib and Nashaib.

Abdullah Hussain was born on Aug 14, 1931, in Gujrat. He did his schooling and also graduation from Zameendar College in Gujrat.

Riaz Ahmed, a nephew of Hanif Ramay and son of Nazir Ahmed, who published Udas Naslain from his publishing house Naya Idara, said it was in 1962 that a young man (Abdullah Hussain) came to his father and requested him to publish his novel.

“My father gave the novel to his friend Sheikh Salahuddin to see whether it was worth publishing. After a week, Sheikh Salahuddin told my father that the novel should be published immediately because after D.H. Lawrence’s death not even in Europe such a novel had been written,” Riaz Ahmed said.

He told Dawn that on the request of Abdullah Hussain, Naya Idara got the cover of Udas Naslain designed by Abdur Rehman Chughtai.

Mr Ahmed said later he published Nashaib and Baagh from his publishing house, Qausain. “I think, I published them after the 70s,” he added.

Writer Masood Ashar said Mr Hussain was, for a man of his time, quite fond of modern technology. The late writer remained connected with his friends and fans on Facebook.

Mr Ashar said that Mr Hussain wrote on the Facebook recently that he had gone through the fourth chemotherapy.

Writer Asghar Nadeem Syed said Abdullah Hussain was a great novelist. He said his very first novel Udas Naslain earned him a lot of acclaim. He said the film, Wapsi Ka Safar, was also based on a story penned by Abdullah Hussain.

Chairman of the Board of Governors of Lahore Arts Council Ataul Haq Qasmi said despite his illness and old age, Mr Hussain used to participate in the meetings of the consultative committee of the Arts Council.

He said although Mr Hussain never accepted any award from the governments, he received the Alhamra Award from the Punjab government. He said the late novelist also accepted the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

Mr Qasmi said after Quratul Ain Haider, Abdullah Hussain was the novelist who inspired generations.

Celebrated writer Intizar Husain said Mr Hussain was a prominent novelist of his time. He said that the late writer was a bit introvert and did not like to attend functions.

Intizar Husain said that he had met Mr Hussain about 10 days ago at his residence and that was his last meeting with him. He said that an award should be announced after the name of Abdullah Hussain.

Writer and former chairman of the Academy of Letters Fakhar Zaman said that he and Abdullah Hussain belonged to the same city, Gujrat. “My friendship with him is spread over many years.”

He said when he was the chairman of the Academy of Letters he published the biography of Mr Hussain.

He said Abdullah Hussain was a distinguished and great writer of the subcontinent.

Mr Zaman said Mr Hussain himself translated Udas Naslain into English and he got it published from Unesco.

He said Abdullah Hussain wrote a novel in English against the backdrop of Afghanistan and it was in the process of publishing in England.

Noted writer and poet Amjad Islam Amjad said that besides being an extremely good novelist, Mr Hussain was a great human being. “I learnt through some of his friends that the late novelist would always refrain from backbiting rather he would praise one in his/her absence.”

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play