Sadia Dehlvi dies at 63, Delhi loses its favourite story-teller

NEW DELHI: Noted Delhi-based writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi has passed away after a prolonged battle with cancer. She was 63. Sadia was admitted to a city hospital recently where she was undergoing treatment. She died at her home on Wednesday, foreign media reported.

“Sad to hear about the tragic demise of Sadia Dehlvi, a well known cultural figure of Delhi, a dear friend and a wonderful human being. Rest in Peace,” tweeted eminent historian S Irfan Habib.

Sadia, who hailed from the royal ‘Shama’ family, edited Bano, an Urdu women’s journal. Her grandfather, Hafiz Yusuf Dehlvi, founded in 1938 Shama, an iconic Urdu film and literary monthly.

A well-known food connoisseur, she wrote a book on Delhi’s culinary history in 2017, titled “Jasmine & Jinns”: Memories and Recipes of My Delhi”.

A woman of many talents, Sadia also produced and scripted documentaries and television programmes, including “Amma and Family” (1995), starring Zohra Sehgal, a veteran stage actor.