Bano Qudsia

Bano Qudsia was a Pakistani writer, playwright and intellectual. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels, dramas and short stories regarded among the best Urdu novelists and short story writers of modern times. She was best known for her novel Raja Gidh. She wrote for television and stage in both the Urdu and Punjabi languages. Her play Aadhi Baat has been called "a classic play". Bano Qudsia died in Lahore on 4 February 2017. Personal life Bano Qudsia was born on 28 November 1928 in Firozpur, British India, as Qudsia Chattah in a Muslim Jat family. Her father was a Bachelor of Agriculture her mother was also a graduate and inspector of school in british india and her brother Pervaiz Chattha was a painter. She migrated to Lahore with her family after the partition of India. She graduated from the Kinnaird College in Lahore and then joined the Government College University (Lahore) (GCU) to earn her master's degree in Urdu literature which she completed in 1951. ¹ Qudsia married writer Ashfaq Ahmed whom she had met at the Government College University (Lahore). They had three sons Aneeque, Anees and Aseer. The couple had been considered inseparable in their social lives. Literary work Qudsia's novel Raja Gidh (The King Vulture) is considered a modern Urdu classic. ⁵ Among her more prominent writings are Aatish-i-zer-i-paa, Aik Din, Asay Pasay, Chahar Chaman, Chhotaa Sheher Baray Log, Footpath ki Ghaas, Haasil Ghaat and Hawa Kay Naam. ⁵ The most well known plays she wrote include Tamasil, Hawa ke Naam, Seharay and Khaleej. ¹ Her critically acclaimed play Aadhi Baat was about a retired headmaster. The play examined the headmaster's day-to-day life problems and had Qavi Khan acting as the lead character. The play's director was Agha Nasir and it was produced by Tauqeer Nasir. Aadhi Baat was performed in May 2010 in Islamabad at a three-day event which was organized by the Pakistan National Council of the Arts. ² Ashfaq Ahmed's autobiography Baba Saheba was incomplete at the time of his death in September 2004. Qudsia completed the biography and the second part of it was published as Rah-i-Rawaan. The contrast in the narrative styles of the couple is evident in these two books; while the first half is considered "provoking, lucid and utterly spellbinding" by critics, the second half takes the feeling of sorrow.