Bano Qudsia (‎; 28 November 19284 February 2017), also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

, producing novels, dramas plays and

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

. Qudsia is best recognized for her novel '' Raja Gidh.'' Qudsia also wrote for television and stage in both 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 Firozpur, (pronunciation: ɪroːzpʊr also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in the Firozpur District of Punjab, India. After the Partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan bor ...

, British India, as Qudsia Chattha in a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

family. Her father was a Bachelor of Agriculture; her mother was also a graduate and inspector of schools in British India and her brother Pervaiz Chattha was a painter. She migrated to Lahore with her family after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

. 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. Qudsia married writer

Ashfaq Ahmed Ashfaq Ahmed (; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and broadcaster. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. H ...

whom she had met at the

Government College Lahore The Government College University (colloquially known as GCU; Punjabi, Urdu: ) is a public research university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded as Government College, Lahore, in 1864 under British administration, it became a university ...

. They had three sons Aneeq, 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. Among her more prominent writings are ''Aatish-i-zer-i-paa'', ''

Aik Din ''Aik Din'' (Urdu: ایک دن) by Bano Qudsia is an Urdu novel. The title this novel has 'Aik Din' implies 'One Day' in English. This novel is based on a social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populati ...

'', ''Asay Pasay'', ''Chahar Chaman'', ''Chhotaa Sheher Baray Log'', ''Footpath ki Ghaas'', ''Haasil Ghaat'' and ''Hawwa Kay Naam''. The most well known plays she wrote include ''Tamasil'', ''Hawwa kay Naam'', ''Seharay and Khaleej''. 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 Muhammad Qavi Khan (; 13 November 1942 – 5 March 2023) was a Pakistani film, radio, theatre and television actor, director and playwright. Khan acted in over 200 films and some 1,000 television plays. Khan is best known for his police drama ...

acting as the lead character. The play's director was

Agha Nasir Agha Nasir (9 February 1937 – 12 July 2016), was a Pakistani director, producer, broadcaster and TV playwright. He started his career at Radio Pakistan in 1955. He later directed TV films and worked in the Pakistani television industry fo ...

and it was produced by

Tauqeer Nasir Tauqeer Nasir ( Punjabi, ) is an actor from Pakistan. He has mostly worked in television, in Urdu as well in Punjabi. He has served as Director General (DG) of Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) for two years. Early life and education ...

. ''Aadhi Baat'' was performed in May 2010 in Islamabad at a three-day event organized by the

Pakistan National Council of the Arts Pakistan National Council of the Arts (, or PNCA) was established through an Act of Parliament in 1973 with the mandate to lead the development of arts in Pakistan. PNCA policies are framed by its Board of Governors which reports to the Federa ...

. 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. Qudsia credits Ahmed for transforming her after their marriage and eventually allowing her to devote herself to writing. Qudsia's novel ''Raah-e-Rawaan'' was published in 2011. It is an analytical look at Ashfaq Ahmed's philosophical thinking and how it may relate to certain aspects of life itself. Qudsia had the highest regard for her husband and placed Ashfaq Ahmed on a very high pedestal. However, she does not even claim to understand the man she lived with for more than five decades. So, an attempt at writing the biography of Ashfaq Ahmed took her beyond that ‘one person’— and she started to write about his ancestry, the family including his grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, sisters and their children so as to fully understand the enigma that was Ashfaq Ahmed. Qudsia's novel ''Haasil Ghaat'' was published in 2005 and was noted for its diction but also criticized then for usages of English slangs than her usual traditional Urdu narrative. The language however became popular amongst other writers in future. Bano Qudsia also wrote a book about

Qudrat Ullah Shahab Qudrat Ullah Shahab (or Qudratullah Shahab, ; 26 February 191724 July 1986) was an eminent Urdu writer, civil servant and diplomat from Pakistan. Shahab holds the distinction of having served as the Principal Secretary to the Presid ...

titled "Mard-e-Abresham" . The book mainly portrays Shahab's life and how it was connected with Ashfaq Ahmed and his family both on social and spiritual level. Baba Mohammad Yahya Khan was much inspired by Maa jee Bano Qudsia and Baba jee

Death

Bano Qudsia died on 4 February 2017 at the Ittefaq Hospital in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

at the age of 88. Her son Aseer Ahmed informed that she died around the time for

Maghrib prayer Maghrib () is one of the five mandatory salah (Islamic prayers), and contains three cycles (''rak'a''). If counted from midnight, it is the fourth one. According to Shia and Sunni Muslims, the period for Maghrib prayer starts just after sun ...

s (after sunset). She was buried at Lahore on 5 February and prayer services were held at Model Town, Lahore.

Awards and recognition

In 1983, Qudsia was awarded the

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...

(''Star of Excellence'') by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

. In 1986 she received PTV Best Writer Award. In 2010, the Pakistani government awarded her the

Hilal-i-Imtiaz The ''Hilal-e-Imtiaz'' (; ), also spelled as ''Hilal-i-Imtiaz,'' is the second-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") civilian award and honour given to both civilians and military officers of the Pakistan Armed Forces by the Government of Pakist ...

(''Crescent of Excellence'') for her services in literature. In 2012, the

Pakistan Academy of Letters The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) () is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout the nat ...

(PAL) awarded Qudsia the Kamal-e-Fun Award, which is a lifetime achievement award. In 2016, the GCU's Old Ravians Union (GCU-ORU) at its annual reunion conferred on her a lifetime achievement award. The same year, the Pakistan Life Care Foundation (PLCF) also awarded the lifetime achievement award to Qudsia. On 28 November 2020,

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celebrated her 92nd birth anniversary with a

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Books

;Dramas * ''Chota Shehar Baray Log'' * ''Phir Achanak Youn Hua'' * ''Lagan Apni Apni'' * ''Aadhee Baat'' * ''Foot Paath Ki Ghaas'' * ''Aasay Paasay'' * ''Tamaseel'' * ''Hawa kay Naam'' * ''Dusra Qadam'' * ''Sidhran'' * ''Suraj Mukhi'' * ''Piya Nam ka Diya'' ;Novels * '' Raja Gidh'' * ''

'' * '' Haasil Ghaat'' * ''Shehr-e-la'zawaal – Abaad Weeranay'' * ''Purwa'' * ''Moom ki Galiyan'' * ''Shehr-e-Bemisaal'' * ''Tauba Shikan'' ;Short stories * ''Hijraton Kay Darmiyan'' * ''Dast Bastaa'' * ''Aatish e Zeer Pa'' * ''Amar Bail'' * ''Dusra Darwaza'' * ''Baz Gasht'' * ''Na Qabil e Zikr'' * ''Samaan e Wajood'' * ''Tawaja ki Taalib'' * ''Kuch Aur Nahi'' ;Biographies * ''Rah-e-Rawaan'' * ''Mard-e-Abresham''

References