Bapsi Sidhwa, a globally celebrated author and a prominent voice in cultural and partition literature, passed away on Wednesday in Houston, Texas, at the age of 86. Her death is a loss not just for the Zoroastrian (Parsi) community, but also for literary groups of India, Pakistan, and around the Globe.
Early life for Sidhwa
Born in Karachi in 1938, Sidhwa spent her early years in Lahore, and lived a life marked by challenges. She contracted polio at the age of two, experienced the horrors of partition, saw a dead body during the times, and much more. All of these experiences shaped her strength and outlook, and over time she graduated from Lahore’s Kinnaird College in 1957 and began writing after her marriage and return to Pakistan.
The partition of India in 1947 and the traumatic experience of the time left an indelible mark on her. One of the most widely known experiences of her of the partition was seeing a corpse in a sack, and this became her inspiration to write ‘Cracking India’ (originally ‘Ice-Candy Man’). This novel was adapted into the critically acclaimed film ‘Earth’ by Deepa Mehta in 1998, and is still a powerful look of the human cost of partition.
Early life for Sidhwa
Born in Karachi in 1938, Sidhwa spent her early years in Lahore, and lived a life marked by challenges. She contracted polio at the age of two, experienced the horrors of partition, saw a dead body during the times, and much more. All of these experiences shaped her strength and outlook, and over time she graduated from Lahore’s Kinnaird College in 1957 and began writing after her marriage and return to Pakistan.
The partition of India in 1947 and the traumatic experience of the time left an indelible mark on her. One of the most widely known experiences of her of the partition was seeing a corpse in a sack, and this became her inspiration to write ‘Cracking India’ (originally ‘Ice-Candy Man’). This novel was adapted into the critically acclaimed film ‘Earth’ by Deepa Mehta in 1998, and is still a powerful look of the human cost of partition.
Her literary legacy
Sidhwa’s novels, including ‘The Crow Eaters’, ‘The Bride’, ‘An American Brat’, and ‘City of Sin and Splendour’, were about the South Asian life and experience, and the cultural and historical fabric of the region. Her collaboration with Deepa Mehta also resulted in ‘Water: A Novel’, which inspired the Academy Award-nominated film ‘Water’.
Sidhwa’s work has always been appreciated and looked up to for its depth, rawness, empathy, and cultural richness. This in turn earned her many accolades, throughout her life, and the most prestigious of them all was Pakistan’s highest national honour, the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, in 1991, and the Mondello Prize for Foreign Authors in 2007.
She was also inducted into the Zoroastrian Hall of Fame, recognising her as a literary ambassador of the community.
A legacy left behind
Sidhwa’s works focused on identity, resilience, and the struggles of women in South Asia. She was influential, had a free spirit, and possessed the ability to connect with people on a personal level.
In 2022, a documentary titled ‘Bapsi: Silences of My Life’ was released, giving a deep, emotional look into her journey as a writer and her experiences during partition.
And her legacy will live on through the Bapsi Sidhwa Literary Prize, established by the Zoroastrian Association of Houston and FEZANA to honour her contributions as the first internationally recognized Zoroastrian writer.