Renowned Urdu playwright Fatima Surayya Bajia passes away at 85, she was able to put a together the culture and values of Pakistan at a time when they cut a desperate picture!
Sister of Anwar Maqsood, Zehra Nigah, Zubaida Tariq (cooking expert) and Mrs Kazmi, a famous dress designer — Fatima Surayya Bajia passes away at 85
Fatima Surayya Bajia (فاطمہ ثریاّبجیا ) was born on 1 September 1930 and was a renowned Urdu novelist, playwright and drama writer of Pakistan.
She has been awarded various awards at home and abroad including Japan’s highest civil award in recognition of her works. She also remained Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh province in Pakistan.
She will remain a well-known personality in social welfare, literary Radio, TV and Stage. She has been writing for PTV Centres Islamabad and Lahore since beginning of the channel. She wrote her first long play Mehman. She contributed for the literary programmes like Auraaq, and beauty care programmes under the title Aaraish-e-Khaam-e-Kakal and she also produced some children programmes.
Bajia first got involved with PTV in 1960’s when her flight to Karachi had been delayed and she came to PTV Islamabad station for a visit.
Director Agha Nasir hired her and Bajia made her debut in 1966 by acting in one of his plays. She began writing afterwards. Nasir said about her that:
“During Ziaul Haq’s time when the ‘dupatta policy’ was implemented and women were forced to behave a certain way, Bajia wrote about characters from Baghdad and Granada. This was brilliant because these places were supposedly Islamic societies and no one could say anything about them.”
He further added that when writing a play, Bajia would literally move with her belongings to the TV station and then become an authority by default.
“Anyone who had a problem would go to Bajia, not to the chief of the organisation.”
Most of her dramas like Shama, Afshan, Aroosa, Ana, Tasveer had large ensemble casts and her dramas portrayed huge families and their problems. She produced great number of Women programmes, especially she is founder of Khwateen key Meilaad. Nowadays, she is retired from writing.
Some of her popular drama serials:
* Shama 1974 (adopted from A.R. Khatoon’s novel)
* Afshaan (adopted from A.R. Khatoon’s novel)
* Aroosa(adopted from Zubaida Khatoon’s novel)
* Tasweer (adopted from A.R. Khatoon’s novel)
* Zeenat (adopted from Mirza Quleech Baig’s Sindhi novel)
* Ana
* Aagahi
* Aabgeenay
* Babar
* Tareekh-o-Tamseel
* Ghar aik Nagar
* Faraz Aik Karz
* Phool Rahi Sarsoon
* Tasveer-e-Kainaat
* Asaavari
* Arzoo
* Sassi Punno
* Aabgeenay
* Anarkali
* Auraq
* Jisse Piya Chahe
Bajia has won numerous awards, including the Pride of PerformanceAward for her services to the performing arts in Pakistan it is one of the highest civil awards conferred by the Pakistan Government and abroad including Japan’s highest civil award in recognition of her works. She also remained Advisor to the Chief Minister of Sindh province in Pakistan. Most recently she appeared in The Big Show on CNBC alongside another legendary writer Haseena Moin. In 2012, she was awarded Hilal-i-Imtiazby President of Pakistan.
On 22 May 2012, the biography of Bajia titled Apki Bajia (Your’s Bajia) written by Syeda Iffat Hasan Rizvi after six years of research was released.
