Wajida Tabassum

Wajida Tabassum
Wajida Tabassum
Born	16 March 1935; Amravati, India
Died	7 December 2011 (aged 76); Mumbai, India
Occupation	Writer
Language	Urdu
Nationality	Indian

Wajida Tabassum (16 March 1935 – 7 December 2011) was an Indian writer of fiction, verses and songs in the Urdu language. She wrote 27 books. Some of her stories have been made into movies and Indian television serials. Her controversial 1975 story titled "Utran" (translated as 'Cast-Offs' or 'Hand-Me Downs') was made into a popular soap opera on Indian television in 1988.[1][2][3] "Utran" was reprinted in English translation as part of an anthology of 20 short stories titled Such Devoted Sisters in 1994,[4] and from there was made into a movie in 1996 under the title Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, with a script by Mira Nair and Helena Kriel.[4][5][6]

Biography

Wajida Tabassum was born in Amravati, Maharashtra in 1935. She graduated from Osmania University with a degree in Urdu language. After graduation her family moved from Amravati to Hyderabad where she started writing stories in Urdu in the Dakhini dialect from 1940 in the backdrop of the aristocratic social life of Hyderabad.[3][7][8] She married her cousin Ashfaq Ahmad in 1960; he was employed with Indian Railways. After his retirement he published all her books. They settled in Bombay and had five children, four sons and one daughter.[7]

Wajida Tabassum's stories started appearing in the monthly magazine Biswin Sadi ('twentieth century'). These stories were erotic in style as she brought out the life styles of the Hyderabadi nawabs, which was considered "luxurious and amorous". Her collection of stories was first published as Shahr-e Mamnuʻ ('Forbidden City') in 1960; it became very popular and received critical acclaim. Literary critic Mujtaba Husain observed that "she was the first story writer after Chughtai who can be called sahib-e-asloob, a writer with distinct style." He also lamented that she crossed the "limits of decorum (and decency)" in her stories. The story titled "Utran" (meaning 'discarded clothes'), which was made into a film and a Hindi TV serial, was a literary achievement for her. Her other stories titled Nath ka bojh (Burden of the nose-ring), Haur upar (A little higher) and Nath Utarwai (Removal of the nose-ring) were controversial, as there was more of an erotic element in these stories. During the 1960 and 1970s the erotic stories which she wrote were published in the magazine titled Shama, for which she received very handsome payments at that time. However, she withdrew from the writing scene as she suffered from arthritis and led a secluded life in her home in Mumbai, although her house was used for shooting of films. She died on 7 December 2011 in Mumbai.[7][8]

Publications

Apart from Utran, some of her other published books are:

Teh Khana (1968)
Kaise Samjhaoon (1977)
Phul Khilne Do (1977)
Zakhm-e Dil aur Mahak, aur Mahak (1978)[9]
Zar Zan Zamin (1989).[7][8]

References

Economic and Political Weekly. Sameeksha Trust. 1994.
Butalia 2013, p. 119.
Kali for Women 1990, p. 131.
Muir 2006, p. 113.
Variety International Film Guide. Andre Deutsch. 2003.
"Utran" has been anthologized in three different English translations. The first, by Manisha Chaudhry, was titled "Hand-Me-Downs" and first published in The Slate of Life (Kali for Women, 1990) and reprinted in Such Devoted Sisters (Virago Press, 1993); it was this translation on which the film was based. A translation by Rasheed Moosavi, Vasantha Kannabiran, and Syed Sirajuddin appeared under the title "Castoffs" in Women Writing in India (The Feminist Press, 1993). A third translation by Syeda S. Hameed and Sughra Mahdi was published under the title "Cast-Offs" in Parwaaz: A Flight of Words (Kali for Women, 1996).
"Wajeda Tabassum". Urdu Youth Forum. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
Khan, AG (31 January 2011). "Wajida Tabassum: a defiant writer". The Milli Gazette. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
https://lccn.loc.gov/78903954 Vājidah Tabassum, 1935- Zak̲h̲m-i dil aur mahak, aur mahak / Vājidah Tabassum. Bambaʼe : Ovarsīz Buk Sainṭar, 1978. 288 p. ; 22 cm. MLCSA 90/04411 (P)

Bibliography

Butalia, Urvashi (2 January 2013). Katha: Short Stories by Indian Women. Saqi. ISBN 978-1-84659-169-3.
Kali for Women (1990). The Slate of Life: More Contemporary Stories by Women Writers of India. Feminist Press at CUNY. ISBN 978-1-55861-088-0.
Muir, John Kenneth (2006). Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 978-1-55783-649-6.

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[1] Economic and Political Weekly. Sameeksha Trust. 1994.

[FOOTNOTEButalia2013119-2] Butalia 2013, p. 119.

[FOOTNOTEKali_for_Women1990131-3] Kali for Women 1990, p. 131.

[FOOTNOTEMuir2006113-4] Muir 2006, p. 113.

[5] Variety International Film Guide. Andre Deutsch. 2003.

[6] "Utran" has been anthologized in three different English translations. The first, by Manisha Chaudhry, was titled "Hand-Me-Downs" and first published in The Slate of Life (Kali for Women, 1990) and reprinted in Such Devoted Sisters (Virago Press, 1993); it was this translation on which the film was based. A translation by Rasheed Moosavi, Vasantha Kannabiran, and Syed Sirajuddin appeared under the title "Castoffs" in Women Writing in India (The Feminist Press, 1993). A third translation by Syeda S. Hameed and Sughra Mahdi was published under the title "Cast-Offs" in Parwaaz: A Flight of Words (Kali for Women, 1996).

[Youth-7] "Wajeda Tabassum". Urdu Youth Forum. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

[Khan-8] Khan, AG (31 January 2011). "Wajida Tabassum: a defiant writer". The Milli Gazette. Retrieved 10 April 2016.

[9] ttps://lccn.loc.gov/78903954 Vājidah Tabassum, 1935- Zak̲h̲m-i dil aur mahak, aur mahak / Vājidah Tabassum. Bambaʼe : Ovarsīz Buk Sainṭar, 1978. 288 p. ; 22 cm. MLCSA 90/04411 (P)