FOR someone who had something to say on so many things for so long Intizar Husain has taken his leave too suddenly.

An agile man for his 90-plus years, this giant of Urdu literature passed away on Tuesday, leaving his fans and the literati the impossible task of deciding a definite place for him in the literary world. That exercise will continue for a long time to come.

He was incomparable and is more likely to inspire writers, with few committing themselves to emulating his style. One of a kind, he will always rub shoulders with the best that we have been blessed with. And some of his contemporaries in this company — especially a host of those belonging to the old progressive bloc — he could take face-on.

Like many, Intizar sahib was influenced by the friction he created by the clash of one ‘brand’ or ‘type’ of literature against the other. He loved debate and was not averse to allowing himself an emotional outburst or two.

It is remarkable how his own journey that had begun under the watch of Hasan Askari, who wasn’t exactly enamoured of the progressives, was marked by crossovers which Intizar sahib never ventured to fully explain — such as his stint with the very obviously progressive Imroze newspaper. He spent much more time responding to what was labelled as obsessive nostalgia in his writings.

Then again, this was perhaps one area where the conservative Intizar Husain may have been ahead of many of those around him, including some who would be offended by his urge to preserve the past.

The dominant thinking of the time aside, his ideas turned out to be worth pursuing, given Intizar sahib’s command over the craft of storytelling and the insatiable appetite which made him produce quality literature decade after decade. This was work ultimately defined by one individual’s desire to stand out. It provided other individuals and the groups they formed so much to read and to read into. Thank you, sir.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2016