Identity: A distinguished novelist who laid the foundation of Urdu fiction writing in Kerala and remained an unsung literary figure

Zulekha Hussain was born in 1930 in Cochin, the historic coastal city of Kerala. She received her early education at the Asiya Bai Madrasa in Cochin, where Malayalam, Arabic, and Urdu were taught. In those days, teachers from Hyderabad often came to Kerala for teaching, and Zulekha Hussain acquired remarkable command over Urdu language and literature under one such teacher, Maulvi Rizwanullah.

She was raised in a conservative society where girls pursuing education outside the home was considered inappropriate. Staying within the confines of her home, she developed a deep love for reading and extensively studied the works of major novelists such as Premchand, Gulshan Nanda, and Mahendra Nath.

At the young age of fifteen, she was married to Hussain, who proved to be a progressive and supportive husband. He gave her complete freedom to read and write.

Her early stories and short fiction pieces were regularly published in renowned Urdu literary magazines such as Shama and Khatoon-e-Mashriq.

Encouraged by her husband, she wrote her first novel, Mere Sanam, at the age of twenty. It was published in 1950 by Chaman Book Depot, Delhi. Since it was the sensitive post-Partition era, she avoided publishing her name, address, or photograph with her works for many years and continued writing in anonymity.

Living in a non-Urdu-speaking region like Kerala, where Urdu was not anyone’s mother tongue, Zulekha Hussain produced around twenty-eight novels, eight novelettes, and numerous short stories.

Despite being far removed from traditional Urdu literary circles, her novels beautifully reflected the culture, social life, idioms, and refinement of Delhi and Lucknow, demonstrating the depth of her literary exposure and reading.

Her novel Naseeb Naseeb Ki Baat stands apart from her other works, as it is set against the local backdrop of Kerala, portraying places such as Kollam, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam with remarkable vividness.

Zulekha Hussain’s personal life was marked by deep sorrow and repeated tragedies, which left a profound impact on her writings as well.

Because of her reclusive life and continuous hardships, she remained distant from the mainstream Urdu literary world, and for a long time readers did not even know where the author of these remarkable novels lived.

When her novel Tareekiyon Ke Baad was published, Kerala’s then Education Minister C. H. Mohammed Koya arranged for its Malayalam translation, which was serialized in the popular weekly Chandrika. This proved to be a turning point in her literary recognition.

In the later years of her life, she was included in the Government of India’s Urdu Language Fellowship Committee. The Kerala Urdu Teachers Association also organized a grand event in her honor.

Her well-known novels include Mere Sanam, Aapa, Saba, Oh Bhoolne Waale, Patthar Ki Lakeer, Rooh Ke Bandhan, Apne Aur Paraye, Tareekiyon Ke Baad, Naseeb Naseeb Ki Baat, Raah Akeli, Hasrat-e-Sahil, and Ek Phool Hazaar Gham.

Death: Zulekha Hussain passed away on 15 July 2014 in Cochin.