Muhammed Basheer’s wife Fabi Basheer passes away at 77
She was struck by pneumonia
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-07-16 06:01 GMT
KOZHIKODE: Fathima Beevi (Fabi Basheer), 77, wife of legendary writer Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, died at a private hospital here due to acute pneumonia around 1. 30 p.m. on Wednesday Fabi Basheer had been convalescing from colon cancer at Vailalil house, Beypore, when she was struck by pneumonia.
Basheer fondly called her ‘Fabi’ and Fabi called him ‘Tatta.’ Daughter of Areekkadan Koyakkutti master and Khadeeja, Fathima Beevi (Fabi) came to the life of Baheeer on December 18, 1958 when she was 20. She was a school teacher. On the first day itself Basheer fondly renamed her Fabi.
Unlike the other conservative Muslim wives of Malabar who kept off men, Fabi was a regular face who served sulaimani at the literary gatherings around Basheer at Beypore. The leading lights of Malayalam literature of yore, including Thikkodiyan, Uroob, MV Devan and MT Vasudevan Nair, gathered under the Mangosteen tree in front of Basheer’s home frequently. Though Basheer had allowed her to pursue her passion for teaching, later Fabi left her job to attend to the household chores and found joy in moving around the intellectual world of Basheer. She is survived by daughter Shahina, manager, DC Books, and Anees, senior electronics engineer, Mathrubhumi. Her last rites would be conducted at Juma Masjid Khaberstan at Beypore at 10 a.m. on Thursday.