WE lost a committed progressive writer when Saeeda Gazdar, who emerged on our literary horizon in the 1970s and remained noticeable in the 1980s, recently passed away. In the last about two decades, she had remained in the grip of numerous health issues and had to withdraw to a private life. Saeeda was an active progressive writer, who was fortunate to have had her intellectual grooming under the guidance of renowned social historian and progressive literary figure Syed Sibte Hasan. Saeeda devoted herself to mainly fiction, poetry and translations. Her books, like Aag Gulistan Na Bani, Touq-o-Dar Ka Mausam, Adhi Gawahi, Zanjeer-i-Roz-o-Shab and a couple of others, represent her social consciousness and critical thinking about the political and economic distortions of society.

In the mid-1970s, under the supervision of Sibte Hasan, she brought out a literary magazine, Pakistani Adab, which lost no time in emerging as one of the most notable literary journals of that time. Coming soon after the breakup of the country, the magazine initiated a debate on Pakistani culture and the literatures produced in various Pakistani languages.

Urdu translations of these writings became the hallmark of the magazine. Pakistani Adab brought out historical issues, like Amir Khusro Number, Nai Nasal Number and Amreeki Adab Number. Saeeda translated many renowned writers, including Pablo Neruda. She also wrote smart scripts for some memorable docu-mentaries made by her equally creative director/producer husband, Mushtaq Gazdar.

Had it not been for her protracted illness, Saeeds would have contributed much more to our literature. But whatever she wrote would remain a valuable asset in our progressive literary tradition.

Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed
Karachi

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2024