Altaf Fatima

Altaf Fatima (Urdu: الطاف فاطمہ; 10 June 1927 – 29 November 2018) was a Pakistani Urdu novelist, short story writer, and teacher (specializing in Muhammad Iqbal). Altaf Fatima was born in Lucknow, she moved to Lahore during the Partition, and earned her MA and BEd from the University of Punjab.^{[2][non-primary source needed]} Her novel Dastak Na Do ("Don't Knock!") is regarded as one of the defining works in the Urdu language. An adaptation was presented on Pakistan Television and an abridged translation was serialised by the Karachi monthly, The Herald. In 2018, Fatima received the KLF Urdu Literature award at the 9th Karachi Literature Festival for her book, Deed Wadeed.^[3] She died on 29 November 2018.^[1]

Altaf Fatima
Native name	الطاف فاطمہ
Born	10 June 1927[1] Lucknow, United Provinces, British India
Died	November 29, 2018(2018-11-29) (aged 91) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Occupation	Academic, novelist

Family Background

Altaf Fatima was of Hadhrami descent, her ancestors settled in Delhi in the 19th century.^[4]

Career

Dastak Na Do, her second novel, was published in 1965 becoming her most celebrated work.^[5] Set against the partition of India, the novel explores themes of identity, culture, and migration through the perspectives of Geeti, the protagonist, with Liu, a Chinese immigrant.^[6] A television adaptation of the novel was broadcast by Pakistan Television Corporation in 1986, starring Roohi Bano.^[7] The novel was translated into English by Rukhsana Ahmad as The One Who Did Not Ask, and published in 1993.^[5] In Pakistan?, co-authored by Ziauddin Sardar, it was found that Fatima "skilfully combines elements of literary modernism with the tropes of popular domestic fiction" but faulted her as "discards the harsh realism and bare prose".^[6]

Following Dastak Na Do, she wrote Chalta Musafir against the backdrop of independence of Bangladesh.^[8] The novel received poor reviews due to one-sided narrative, with a contemporary reviewer critiqued the novel for oversimplifying the 1971 East Pakistan conflict, neglecting key aspects like the Bengali language movement and Pakistani army's actions.^[9]

Works

Novels

• Nishaan-i-Mehfil (1975)
• Dastak Naa Do (1964) (The One Who Did Not Ask (Novel) English translation published by Heinemann in 1994)
• Chalta Musafir (1981)^[8]
• Khwabgar (2008)

Collection of short stories

• Woh Jissay chaha gaya(1969)
• Jab Deewarein Girya Karti Hain (1988)
• Taar-i-Ankaboot (1990)
• Deed Wadeed (2017)
• Gawahi Akhir e Shab Ki (2018)

Translations

• Naghmay ka Qatal (Urdu Translation of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird)
• Mere Bachay Meri Daulat (Urdu Translation of My Children, My Gold by Debbie Taylor)
• Barrey Aadmi, Aur Unke Nazariyat. A collection of political essays
• Moti. Urdu Translation of The Pearl by John Steinbeck
• Sach Kahaniyan (2000) (Urdu translation of Truth Tales i.e. Gujrati, Marathi, Tamil and Hindi Short Stories)
• Zaitoon ke Jhund (2016) (Urdu translation of Santa Claus in Baghdad by Elsa Marston)
• Japani Afsana Nigar Khawateen (1994) (Urdu translation of collection of Japanese short stories )
• Haveli ke Ander. (Urdu translation of Inside the Haveli by Rama Mehta)
• Urdu translation of collection of South American short stories
• Bengali translation of Altaf Fatima’s Urdu short story Kahin Yeh Purvai to Nahin (کہیں یہ پروائی تو نہیں) by Subhamay Ray

Tanqeed

• Urdu Adab Mein Fann e Sawaneh Nigari ka Irtiqa (1961)

General

• Rozmarra Aadaab (1963)

See also

• Novels portal

• List of Pakistani writers

Sources

• Yassin-Kassab, Robin; Sardar, Ziauddin (2012). Pakistan?. p. 126. ISBN 9781849042239.