Renowned novelist Bapsi Sidhwa passes away at 86

WASHINGTON: Renowned Pakistani writer and novelist, Bapsi Sidhwa, known for her landmark novel, ‘Ice Candy Man’, passed away at the age of 86 of in Houston, Texas in the United States.

According to her brother, Feroze Bhandara, the famous writer’s last rites will be held in Houston following three days of memorial ceremonies.

Sidhwa was born to a prominent Parsi family in Karachi on August 11, 1938. However, only three months after her birth, she moved to Lahore with her parents where she spent much of her life.

Sidhwa’s novel, ‘Ice Candy Man’, went on to become one of the most celebrated novels worldwide and significantly shaped international perceptions of Pakistani literature.

This novel features her vivid depiction of the chaos and suffering during the traumatic events of the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, which she had witnessed and experienced firsthand as a child in Lahore.

The novel was included in the BBC’s 100 most influential novels.

Later, Indian-Canadian film director and screenwriter, Deepa Mehta, made a film called ‘Earth’ based on this novel which features a young girl affected by polio, witnessing he horrors of the riots during the partition, just like Sidhwa who was also affected by polio in her childhood.