Veteran Kannada novelist and short-story writer Sara Aboobacker passed away in a private hospital in Mangaluru on Tuesday, January 10 at the age of 86. A winner of the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award in 1984, Sara Aboobacker wrote 10 novels and eight collections of stories. She also has seven translated works to her credit.
The novel 'Chandragiriya Theeradalli' is one of her best known works which was later translated into English by Vanamala Vishwanatha as Breaking Ties and into Marathi by Shivarama Padikkal. The novel was initially published in the periodical 'Lankesh Patrike' run by the renowned poet and writer P Lankesh.
She published her first article in 1981, an editorial on communal harmony which was also published in the Lankesh Patrike. She has also written extensively on topics including marital rape, patriarchy and communal violence.
In 1995, she received the Kannada Rajyotsava Award and in 2006 she received the Nadoja award from Hampi University for her contributions to literature. Her books are largely focused on the lives of Muslim women living in Kasargod and the coastal Karnataka region.
A native of Chandragiri in Kasaragod district, Sara Aboobacker moved to Hathill in Mangaluru after her marriage to her husband Aboobacker, an engineer by profession. She was the daughter of lawyer P Ahmed and home maker Zainabi.