LAHORE: Legendary novelist, short story writer and columnist Intizar Hussain passed away in Lahore on Tuesday. He was 92. His wife had passed away a few years ago. The couple had no children.

Hussain was being treated for pneumonia at the National Hospital in Defence for five days. He breathed his last at around 2.45pm.

The funeral prayers will be offered on Wednesday at 1.30pm at Qaumi Markaz Khwajgan, Shadman, and the burial will take place at Firdausia Graveyard on Ferozepur Road.

One of the most powerful voices to have graced Urdu literature, Hussain was born on Dec 7, 1923, in Dibai, in Bulandshahr district, India. He migrated to Pakistan in 1947 on the call of renowned critic Hasan Askari. He had done MA in Urdu from Meerut.

Intizar Hussain wrote novels, short stories and travelogues as well as columns both in English and Urdu. He worked for the Urdu daily, Imroze, as well as Mashriq. He was one of the most popular columnists for Dawn until he recently asked to be relieved of this assignment on account of failing health.

Hussain wrote more than 40 books, including nine novels, various compilations of short stories, criticism and translations.

For his novel Basti he was nominated for Man Booker International Prize in 2013. Basti was first published in 1979 and its English translation was republished as one of the New York Review of Books Classics.

Hussain also wrote an autobiography by the name of Justujoo kya hai while Chiraghon ka dhuvan records his memories of Lahore and of his friends, including the likes of Nasir Kazmi and Ahmed Mushtaq, two of the trail-blazing poets.

The Seventh Door and Leaves are two books among his translations into English. He has translated works from English into Urdu and wrote collections of essays and a book of children literature. He received the Lifetime Achievement award at the Lahore Literary Festival in 2012.

On Sept 20, 2014, Intizar Hussain was awarded French civil award Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. The government of Pakistan also honoured him with Sitara-i-Imtiaz.

Novelist and travelogue writer Mustansar Hussain Tarar said that after the demise of Intizar Hussain and Abdullah Hussain the future of Urdu fiction seemed dark.

Mr Tarar said Intizar’s way of writing was his own, woven into mythological colour. He was a representative of a particular culture in Urdu literature and his books would be a great reference for future generations.

Playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed said Intizar Hussain was a legendary novelist and short story writer whose fiction had many aspects, spread over history, civilisation, culture and political movements. He said the best thing about Hussain’s prose was that it had a connection with the mythology while at the same time it had a strong bond with the contemporary thought. He said his collection Shahr-i-afsos was a great account of the tragedy Pakistan faced in 1971.

Writer and journalist Masood Ashar said Hussain was a trendsetter in short story and novel writing. He adopted a unique way of writing as compared to the progressive writers and his columns his stamp. Hussain’s language had its own charm since it had roots in the indigenous storytelling tradition.

Pakistan Academy of Letters director Mohammad Asim Butt said with the death of Intizar a whole chapter of Urdu literature had come to an end.

Novelist Mirza Athar Baig said Hussain’s death was a loss that could not be described in words. Intizar Hussain was the name of a whole movement and era and he was a multi-dimensional writer.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2016