A solo play at Delhi's Jashn-e-Rekhta festival revives the life of Razia Sajjad Zaheer, a lesser-known Urdu writer, and her progressive husband Sajjad Zaheer. Performed by their granddaughter Juhi Babbar Soni, the production highlights their unconventional marriage and struggles amid India's independence and partition. The event underscores the role of supportive partners in women's literary journeys.
At the tenth edition of Jashn-e-Rekhta, a three-day cultural festival that began on Friday, a solo play titled Ek Lamhaa Zindagi – A Love Story (1938-1979) brings to light the story of Razia Sajjad Zaheer, an Urdu writer largely forgotten outside dedicated literary circles. Razia, who started writing short stories at age nine with strong female protagonists, was an Urdu teacher in Lucknow. She won the Uttar Pradesh Sahitya Akademi Award and the Soviet Land Nehru Award, and was a member of the Progressive Writers' Association. She is also known to some as the mother-in-law of actor-politician Raj Babbar.
The play, produced by Mumbai's Ekjute Theatre Group and directed by Makrand Deshpande and Juhi Babbar Soni—Razia and Sajjad's granddaughter through their daughter Nadira Zaheer Babbar—focuses on Razia's marriage in 1938 to Sajjad Zaheer. An Oxford-educated lawyer and son of Awadh Chief Court Chief Justice Wazir Hasan, Sajjad was a poetry enthusiast and communist activist. One poignant scene depicts their train journey back from Ajmer after marriage, where Sajjad encourages Razia to forgo her burqa, offering his hand as they step into Lucknow, defying societal norms. His mother and others reacted with anger, criticizing the couple's progressive choices.
Sajjad's activism led him to Punjab for the Communist Party, where Partition caught him unawares. He went underground, formed the party in Pakistan, and was jailed alongside Faiz Ahmed Faiz. In 1955, after Pakistan freed him, India initially refused his return. Razia, with her three daughters, confronted Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at Teen Murti Bhavan to secure his repatriation. She raised their family in India, continuing her writing amid hardships, including Sajjad's imprisonment. Razia passed away in 1979, six years after Sajjad.
Juhi draws from family research and her aunt Noor Zaheer's book Siyahi Ki Ek Boond. Deshpande describes the narrative as 'a love story entwined in the history of the country,' praising Juhi's authentic portrayal: 'She has a strong voice, body language, stage presence... Before your eyes, you see how she changes emotions.' The play, set for Saturday, spotlights Razia's resilience in a patriarchal era and Sajjad's empowering role.